Umpire Appreciation: Graeme Webber
Throughout the 2022/23 Season, we will look to continually promote our club volunteers and competition umpires, who make up an integral part of our cricketing community.
For our first Umpire Appreciation - Umpire of the Week - article, we would like to congratulate and show appreciation to Graeme Webber.
Graeme is a highly valued senior umpire with the CSB. He has been with the CSB since its inaugural season in 2016 after a stint with the VTCA where he commenced his umpiring in 2013. Until the end of the 2021/22 season, he had umpired 247 matches – across the VTCA, CSB Men’s Turf, CSB Women’s and CSB Juniors competitions.
In addition to his on-field umpiring, Graeme is also the highly valued volunteer Secretary of the Umpires Management Team. He plays a crucial role in numerous tasks including recruitment, registration, MyCricket administration and assisting the CSB to update rule changes every season. He is also a bit of a guru when it comes to the Laws of Cricket and loves anything to do with Duckworth Lewis. He is a very capable trainer and has been able to use his formidable skills in writing and training, after a successful career in Government, to assist umpires. He also acts as a mentor for new umpires.
When did he first get involved with cricket?
Graeme played cricket at Chelsea as a junior and senior from early 1960s to 1993-94 when he commenced playing with Sandringham in the VTCA. Sandringham folded before the start of the 1998-99 season, so he transferred to Hampton and played there for about ten seasons. He played in two winning Grand Finals - Chelsea Seconds in 1972-73 (VTCA South B) and Chelsea Firsts in 1974-75 (VTCA South A).
He has stood in 19 grand finals at all levels.
When and why did Graeme take up umpiring?
A series of injuries curtailed his playing career so he took up umpiring so that he could remain in the game.
“CSB is a great standard of cricket. I have watched three former Ryder Medallists, a ten-year Premier captain and a former 1st class cricketer and I am in the best seat in the house. I like umpiring the CSB Women's matches because they seem to be having so much fun.”
Best player he has seen?
Alan Campbell, he was an opening bowler for Chelsea.
Life outside of cricket:
“Since retiring I have worked in a small print shop, researched my family history, written a book on my father's service in the Navy in WW2 and now helping with umpire management in CSB. I have also done some flying lessons. We have a small dog which I take for a walk twice a day.”
Comment from Warren Duncan (CSB Umpire Manager)
“Graeme is a brilliant administrator and has been a great asset to our Umpire Management Team. No task is too difficult and he always has time to help our new umpires. His work to assist the CSB to review and re-write CSB rules is legendary”.
“We are all in awe of his skills with regard to MyCricket and the MS Excel application, a commercial spreadsheet application. Graeme is married with two children lives in Sandringham. “
If you are interested in umpiring within any of the four CSB competitions, please reach out to us via the information found in the Umpiring Section of this website.