The following is a message from Mr. Fitzroy I. Hayles, President of the USACUA: 

Key Facts & Figures:

The following is a message from Mr. Vivian Johnson, Secretary of the WICUA: 

Colleagues, 

Please be informed that former Test Umpire Compton Vyfhuis of Guyana died last week. Funeral service will be on Friday January 30 in Guyana. Persons wishing to attend should contact Mr. Grantley Culbard as indicated in the email below. 

We again wish to offer our deepest condolences to his family and the cricket umpiring fraternity of Guyana.

Regards, 

Vivian,
Secretary.

The Executive Board of USACA, at its recently held AGM on Jan 25, 2009, discussed at length the long-standing request by the USACUA to be recognized as the primary body to train, certify, and represent umpires across the USA. 

The USACUA was represented at the AGM by its Vice President, Mr. Fitzroy I. Hayles and Assistant Secretary Mr. Gokul R. Chakravarthy. Several questions were raised ranging from, but not limited to, the legitimacy of the USACUA's claim to be qualified to be the aforementioned body to how umpires outside of the New York area will have access to training and guidance resources. 

The President of the USACA, Mr. Gladstone Dainty, at one point mentioned that USACUA already has a comprehensive training and certification process in place and hence should be given an opportunity to try and assimilate all the umpires from across USA into one body as opposed to re-inventing the wheel. Mr. Dainty shared the concerns of the USACUA that in spite of the existence of vastly talented umpires in the USA, none of them was appointed in the recently held ICC Americas tournaments of varying grades. 

Based on this as well as an earlier report and the subsequent "Q&A" session from ICC America's director Mr. Martin Viera, it was also apparent that this was due to the lack of a unified body representing umpires from across USA which the USACA recognizes that the ICC can then directly appoint umpires from or with the recommendation thereof. 

To this end, the USACUA has been given 2 months to come back with a proposal.

The following is an article on www.newyorkcricket.com written by Sam Sooppersaud:

The following is a memo from Mr. Fitzroy Hayles, Vice President of USACUA:

The following is a memo from Mr. Fitzroy Hayles, Vice President of USACUA:

TO:  All League Presidents, Team Captains, Club Executives, Regional Representatives and other Interested Individuals.

This seeks to inform you that training sessions for Umpires and Scorers will commence on:

Date:  Sunday, January 11, 2009
Time:  1:00 PM sharp
Place: Lucas Cricket Club
           1012 Ralph Avenue 
           (Between Tilden & Snyder Avenues)
           Brooklyn, NY 11203

The sessions will run for a period of fourteen (14) weeks, and will culminate with the administration of the USACUA Preliminary and Final Exams.

Prospective umpires are reminded that they will need to maintain an eighty (80) percent attendance rate in order to qualify to sit any examination administered by the Association.

Members who have sat and passed the USACUA or the WICUA qualifying examinations are also required to attend these seminars being offered by the Association.

Information about the training sessions have already being communicated to the Regional Directors, League presidents and other league executives. Coordinators and league representatives are asked to convey this information to prospective umpires or individuals within their league who aspire to be trained as umpires. They may submit names or the lists of club contacts to the secretariat in order that the information can be forwarded to the relevant clubs or individuals as quickly as possible.

Members who are required to complete the WICUA Final Written or Oral and Practical examinations are asked to communicate their intentions to the Chairman of the Training and Examination Committee.

If you need more information, please feel to contact us as soon as possible. Information can be obtained  [by emailing]:

FHayles2@aol.com,
the Secretary at  rmcfarlane@kingsbrook.org, 
Sylvester Mulcare at  smulcare@verizon.net, ,
Carl Patrick at Maroonmanx@aol.com,
Hammy Reid at  HCReid@aol.com,
Steve Kalloo at   cricketumpire03@aol.com,
Mohammed Baksh at mnjbaksh@aol.com,
or call me at telephone number 347-415-2061. 

Respectfully Yours, 
Fitzroy I. Hayles
Vice President for Secretary.

The following is a memo from Mr. Azad Khan, Secretary of Canada Cricket Umpires' Association:

Dear Mohammed N. Baksh,
On behalf of everyone of Canada Cricket Umpires Association; I would like to sincerely congratulate you on your recent Induction into Cricket Hall Of Fame.  
I must say that I was not surprised to read ofyour success in the email sent by Mr. Fitzroy Hayles.

You have proven the skeptics wrong and accomplished what most said were impossible.
There is no doubt that your recent achievements will be spoken of for some time to come and that the admiration for your accomplishments is felt by all of us within the Association as well as the general public.

Please accept our heartiest congratulations for your success.

Yours sincerely,  
Azad Khan

_____________________________________

Key Facts & Figures:

The following is a memo from Mr. Troy K 'BifF' Mills, Rep of LICUA:

Fellow [Umpires],
It is with deep regret that I inform you that the St.Kitts Cricket Umpires Association (SKCUA) has lost another one of our brothers. 
Umpire Ian E Merchant passed away on Saturday last as he landed in Trinidad to receive medical attention there.
The date for the funeral has not been set as yet and I will advise when it is.
Can you please inform the members of your Association accordingly.
On behalf of the SKCUA and my personal behalf, I would like to express our most profound condolences to his family.
May he rest in peace. 

Troy K 'Bif' Mills 
Representative for the LICUA on the West Indies Cricket Umpires [Association's] Publicity Committee.

Bourkes Project
Sandy Point 
St. Kitts West Indies 
Tele: (869)-466-4862/(869)-465-4862
Mob : (869)-668-2055/(869)-662-2622 
Fax : (869)-466-4862

The following is a memo from Mr. Carl Patrick, PRO of USACUA:

There will be an 

Executive Meeting
Date: Friday, October 3, 2008
Time: 7:00 PM sharp
Place:
Lucas Cricket Club
1012 Ralph Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11203

and a General meeting 
Date: Friday, October 10, 2008
Time: 7:00 PM sharp
Place:
Lucas Cricket Club
1012 Ralph Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11203

The 2008 Graduation Ceremony (or Awards Night as it was referred to in a previous News item below) of the USACUA will be held:

The following is a memo from Mr. Krish Persaud, as forwarded by John Aaron:

The 2008 Finals of the Ed Ahmad  Cup Competition that was rained out on Sept 6th will be replayed on  Sunday Sept 28th at Floyd Bennett Field starting at 12 Noon. Jamaica and Guyana will be the two teams contesting the Finals.  Please inform the rest of the Cricketing Community. 

Thx Krish.

Internationally known West Indies and United States of America Cricket Umpires Association (USACUA) umpire Mohammed Nabbie Baksh will be inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame in Hartford, Connecticut, this Saturday, September 20, 2006. A native of Guyana, Mr. Baksh has been in charge of training and examination for USACUA umpires since the inception of the organization in 1992. 

Umpire Mohammed Nabbie Baksh:

Umpire Baksh was born on February 5, 1945 and received his tertiary education in Guyana and served as a teacher and education administrator with the Guyana Ministry of Education. Quite an avid cricketer, Umpire Baksh started his career as a league umpire doing duties in first-division Case Cup matches in his native Guyana. He was selected to serve as an elite umpire in the Red Stripe Cup competition and other high leveled tournaments in the West Indies.

He continues to be more that an on-field jurist, sharing his knowledge with host of young people who are desirous of becoming umpires. Umpire Baksh migrated to the United States and immediately became involve in the training and development of local umpires. Mr. Baksh has shared his knowledge with thousand of umpires in many states within the USA. A very vocal and strong-willed individual, Umpire Baksh has never refused to challenge the prudence of the Laws of Cricket and have advocated for many fundamental changes to the laws.

In a conversation with Umpire Baksh you will always observe that his greatest joy was being a High School Principal in his native country of Guyana. He brings the passion to the job, and it is inevitable that many of us that have benefited directly from his style of teaching as the Chief Training Officer for the USACUA. His students have continuously outperformed the other territories at the WICUA examinations. A professional umpire, Mohammed N. Baksh is also a senior administrator with the Catholic Charities of New York, a job he has held for quite a number of years.

Umpire Baksh follows closely in the footsteps of his colleague umpire Hammy Reid, who was inducted last year into the Cricket hall of Fame.