61 out of 70 local umpires struggling with 'unsatisfactory' English in BCB's test

61 out of 70 local umpires couldn't pass the 'English test' arranged by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Sunday. In the test that was held with the help of American International University (AIUB) to test the umpires' English language skills, only nine could be categorised as "proficient users". Three of them were women.

22 umpires were given the "developing user" tag while the rest were considered "basic users". It means only nine out of the 70 are able to officiate professional cricket matches where the ability to understand and use the English language proficiently is considered a mandatory skill.

In addition to looking after the in-match proceedings, the umpires have to write the umpires' report in English. Considering all these, the BCB has decided to focus on this very aspect in an attempt to make quality umpires.

"It's not that 61 have failed. Their result is unsatisfactory," the BCB's umpiring committee chairman Iftekhar Ahmed Mithu told The Business Standard. "Nine umpires secured 40 marks out of 60. Listening, speaking and writing are three major skills. Of them, listening and writing [the report] are important. Those who don't have these skills will have to remain as local umpires. It's important to understand English to understand the laws of the game because they are all written in this language."

"We just wanted to check the status of the umpires. Some got 50, some got six [out of 60]. We are making them prepare for the ICC's foundation course. If you want to make the final step of the [ICC's umpiring selection] process, you have to get through the first step. We are going through a process."

The BCB's program head David Moor is helping out with this. The board already has a contract with AIUB and the university will help the BCB in this project.