Close this window				An Umpire’s Perspective Sir Brian Mawhinney Mencap is a wonderful charity. Norma Major is a friend. I love cricket and the Alconbury ground is very picturesque. So I have never needed much persuasion to umpire Norma’s annual cricket match in aid of Mencap, and I have many happy memories of those games. Showing Norma how to grip the bat, in front of the stumps, for the benefit of the photographers. Eating ice creams with the former Prime Minister. Chatting with the families reclining on the grass in the sun as I stood at square leg Marvelling at the accuracy with which the parachutists landed in the middle of the pitch. Giving Robert Sturdy out LBW second ball, only to be over-ruled by the fielding side – he had not been in long enough! – and then, having taken my cue from them, being roundly criticised by the fielders for not dismissing others whose legs got in the way of the ball! Admiring the ageless batting and bowling skills of former test cricketers – and Joe Cuby’s unbelievable bowling. Even more unbelievably, he took wickets! The smell of hamburgers and onions cooking. The crowds of autograph hunters and the good humour with which the celebrities sign. The sun and sunburn. The corny remarks of the commentator on the PA. And the generosity of Cambridgeshire people towards such a worthy cause. Without the sponsor, supporters and friends, Mencap would be the poorer. And without David Pilling and his colleagues at the Alconbury Club and David English and his Bunbury friends, there would be no such special days. So I thank and congratulate them all. Long may this enjoyable and worthy occasion continue.