Simon Taufel Starts Online Course, Wants To Increase Capabilities Of Umpires

Former ICC Elite Panel Umpire Simon Taufel has come up with an online accreditation course in the hope to reduce the gaps in umpires' training and development. The course will be offering three levels of accreditation -- introductory, Level 1, and Level 2. Taufel has created the programme together with the ICC Cricket Academy based in Dubai. What is remarkable is that Taufel has overseen the course material himself and he now hopes that the standard of umpiring will go up.

In a conversation with NDTV, Taufel opened up on how he thought about starting this course, and he shed light on the details of the new accreditation-based programme.

"I would like new and existing umpires to have better resources than when I started. I'd like to help bridge the gap between the resourcing need of the umpires and the growing challenges of officiating cricket. If we can increase the capabilities and enjoyment of our umpires, then the game will be better off," Taufel told NDTV.

"We have put a lot of resources into the program so that people can work through the videos and explanatory notes before attempting the competency-based exercises. The candidate can work through the course at their own pace and even attempt the modules over and over again until they understand what is required. I'm very confident that even the most experienced umpire will learn a new skill or technique," he added.

When asked about the different levels of this course, Taufel said: "Introduction (designed for people new to umpiring – Mums, Dads, school teachers, etc) – this course should take around 4 hours to complete (excluding the MCC Laws e-learning component which is dependent upon the existing knowledge of the person). You can do one module at a time and in any