Bendigo District Cricket Umpires Association president Larry Wust doesn't expect Cricket Victoria's COVID-19 guidelines to cause a downturn in umpire numbers.
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Under the "return to play" guidelines set by Cricket Victoria on Friday, umpires will be required to wear masks when officiating matches.
"It's going to be uncomfortable to wear a mask when you're standing in the sun all afternoon,'' Wust said on Saturday.
"Personally, I'm not sure why we need to wear a mask...but if the rules say that we need to wear a mask then we'll wear them.
"It will be uncomfortable, but at the end of the day we've just got to grit our teeth and live with it.
"I'm sure our umpires will be okay with wearing masks."
Cricket Victoria's rules are based on regional Victoria being in stage three of the state government's COVID-19 roadmap to recovery.
By the time the BDCA season starts on October 31 regional Victoria could be in step two and Cricket Victoria's guidelines for umpires could change.
Under the current guidelines, as well as wearing masks, umpires will be required to sanitise their hands every 10 overs.
"There's plenty of changes for the umpires to work through,'' Wust said.
"Cleaning the ball every 10 overs, and other protocols that are in place, have to be met.
"It's going to be an interesting season for players and umpires."
The BDCA will play 18 rounds of one-day matches for the first time this season.
Wust said that decision would benefit the BDCUA in its efforts to retain and attract umpires.
"Being one-day games is going to help us because last summer we had numerous weeks where we had to substitute umpires in for one week of a match because umpires were only available for one of the days play,'' Wust said.
"All one-day matches this year will make that easier for us.
"We've lost a couple of umpires from last year, but we've also picked up at least one.
"We'd love to see some fresh umpires join us, particularly former players.
"We supply uniforms and pay for umpires to do their level one course online.
"It's a great way to stay involved with cricket and you get paid at the same time."
Anyone interested in becoming a cricket umpire can contact Larry Wust on 0417 165 677.
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