Hey Cricket Enthusiasts,
In this article, I am going to talk about the responsibilities of the 4th and 5th umpires in cricket.
How many umpires are there in a cricket match?
There are 5 umpires.
The 2 on-field umpires are the bowler’s end umpire and the leg umpire. The bowler’s end umpire gets to take most of the decisions while the leg umpire gets to call over-the-head wide balls, over-waist-high no balls, stumping chances and etc.
The 3rd umpire is waiting upstairs watching every bit of the game through screens. He is in charge of when a player or an on-field umpire refer upstairs to have a second opinion.
These are the things normally a person does know. As the 4th and 5th umpires rarely make it into a television camera, you might not know about what their responsibilities are.
The 4th and 5th umpire,
- plays the role of reserve umpire
- brings on the new ball to the field
- carries drinks for umpires at the drinks break
- checks the batteries in the light meter
- observes the pitch at lunch and tea intervals to make sure that there are no issues
- keeps track of player substitutions and the time spent off the field
What if something happens to an on-field umpire and he can’t continue?
In this scenario, the 3rd umpire will take the position of the on-field umpire and the 4th umpire will take care of the duties of the 3rd umpire.
I hope you guys learned something valuable today. Thank you for reading this article. See you soon. Stay Safe ✌