ON the issue of wearing masks in general, common sense is needed.
The current situation involving cricket umpires under COVID-19 protocols needing to wear masks while adjudicating isn’t the best application of that.
It’s a bit of a stretch to say they need to wear one, while a bloke fielding at mid-on or mid-off five metres away – or even a slips fielder at the other end of the pitch – doesn’t.
Yes, those players might need to move more than an umpire on occasion – but anyone who knows cricket can understand an umpire still does need to move when adjudicating run outs, etc.
Sometimes a slips fielder would be moving less in fact.
I’m not one to bleat about government oppression and having a bit of cloth on my face when in public isn’t terrible.
It’s a minor inconvenience maybe, far from a major problem.
But in the heat of summer that might change, I suppose we will get a test run this weekend with the warmer temperatures.
Bear in mind though I’m more than 40 years younger than some of the guys who umpire cricket.
With a rapidly ageing demographic among cricket umpires, it’s going to be pretty testing for them to be wearing a mask when the temperature gets around that 40-degree mark.
Does the health risk minimisation wearing a mask is supposed to achieve outweigh the health risk of wearing one in high heat, particularly in this cricket umpiring context? Probably not, if we are being honest.
Overall, I’m hopeful we will see some review into masks to perhaps tailor it better to conditions up here if they are an issue like many feel they will be.
Keep the masks for indoors, sure.
Outdoors, when able to be socially distant – like when umpiring cricket, playing golf or bowls etc – pocket them.
