Players and umpires meet to restore good relations

Members of the umpiring profession are to meet with members of the player's union, The Professional Cricketers' Association, tomorrow (Wednesday 7Th February).

The meeting is prompted by fears of a worsening relationship between players and officials, and in light of the incident last season when former Test umpire Alan Whitehead was fined and warned as to his future conduct after a confrontation with Warwickshire's Dougie Brown.

Representing the umpires will be Barrie Leadbeater, who commented: "We asked for the meeting because there have been more and more problems on the field with promotion and relegation issues and next season with the implementation of five-run penalties for various offences there could be more room for disputes and it could get worse.

"We want to come to some sort of agreement with the players about what is acceptable and what is not. We don't want to see another incident like last summer's with players and umpires falling out because we are all in the same game."

George Sharp and Barry Dudlestone, who both have experience as Test umpires, will accompany Leadbeater at the meeting. David Graveney, Matthew Fleming and Peter Such will represent the players.