THE Bendigo District Cricket Umpires Association has added a second female to its panel – and she has international playing experience on her resume.
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Helen Wardlaw recently moved to Bendigo and has now turned to umpiring to ensure she can continue to be part of the game she has loved since she was seven-years-old growing up opposite a cricket field in Yorkshire.
It’s a game the 34-year-old has played at the highest level with England in three Tests and seven One-day Internationals in 2003 and 2004 as an off-spin bowler.
Not that she’s one to live in the past of her international cricket experience.
“I like to keep it fairly low key, but I learned so much through that time, not just cricket-wise, but life experience as well,” Wardlaw said.
“But it’s good to be humble about these things and it was a long time ago now.”
Wardlaw moved to Australia three-and-a-half-years ago and to Bendigo recently to take up a job at Simonds Homes as a permits officer.
She played last season with Melbourne in the Premier Cricket women’s competition, but not keen on the travel this summer, Wardlaw has decided to take up umpiring in her new hometown.
“I saw Cricket Victoria was doing a free course for women umpires, so I gave that a go and then got in touch with Paul Abbott from the Bendigo Umpires and it’s just a great way of staying involved in the game,” Wardlaw said.
Wardlaw – who joins Lisa McCabe as the only female members on the BDCUA panel – had her first stint in charge in the third XI game between Bendigo United and Strathfieldsaye last Saturday.
“I love it… it’s prime position out in the middle and I enjoyed it more than I thought I probably would,” Wardlaw said.
It’s prime position out in the middle and I enjoyed it more than I thought I probably would
- Helen Wardlaw after umpiring her first game
“I’ve coached before and it’s something I’ll contemplate again in the future, but in the meantime I really want to get into umpiring.
“I would love if I could make a career out of umpiring, but there’s a lot of work that would go into that in getting the games behind me.
“Hopefully, further down the line avenues will open up to proceed down that path.”
Wardlaw comes from a strong cricketing family, with her younger brother, Iain, having played 22 one-day internationals for Scotland, including in the 2015 World Cup.
• Wardlaw’s international career with England:
Tests:
Matches: 3. Runs: 56. HS: 36. Avg: 18.6. Wickets: 8. BB: 3-35. Avg: 33.1.
One-day Internationals:
Matches: 7. Runs: 39. HS: 29. Avg: 9.7. Wickets: 7. BB: 2-27. Avg: 26.4.
