Umpires need to be good students of the game
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
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In an interview to Nitin Naik in the Times of India, Simon Taufel saysit's not necessary to play at the highest level to become an umpire. In 2008, Taufel won his fifth-successive ICC Umpire of the Year award.
Being able to read the game and have a feel for it helps. Being able to anticipate play and having empathy for what the players are going through is very important to be a good match manager. You don't need to play at the highest level to be a good umpire, you just need to be a good student of the game and realise it's a players' game.
On his fitness routine:
Basically I do 8 to 12 cardio sessions a month depending upon travel and umpiring work. Then I add 6 to 8 strength sessions and report back to Jock every month with my maximum heart rate numbers from every session so he can track progress.
Match day is a low-key routine. The end of the day is more important when I do my warm down. This is normally a 30-minute walk or 15-min run or 15-min swim with a full body stretch. It helps circulation and allows me to be back fresh the next day.
Mathew Varghese is sub-editor (stats) at Cricinfo