Four NSWCUSA Members Recognised with Cricket Australia Appointments

Four NSWCUSA members have been recognised in recent weeks achieving milestones in Cricket Australia matches, appointed to either make debuts in a Cricket Australia competition or officiate in underage national finals.

For Mitchell Claydon, Roberto Howard, Lauren McGill and Kate Rowlands, recent selections have marked significant progression in the representative umpiring pathway.

Roberto Howard, in his first season as a member of Cricket Australia’s Contracted Umpire Panel, was selected to make his BBL debut, officiating the match between the Melbourne Stars and the Sydney Thunder at Manuka Oval.

Howard has now been an on-field umpire in 39 WBBL matches and been a regular umpire at Second XI level since 2018.

His second match in the BBL came over the weekend, a home match at the SCG as the Sydney Sixers defeated the Perth Scorchers.

Today he is in the middle for the second day of a four-day fixture between a Cricket Australia XI and the England Lions in Brisbane.

On Sunday at EPC Solar Park in Canberra, Lauren McGill made her WNCL debut, in the middle as the Australian Capital Territory defeated Victoria in the first of two matches between the sides.

Lauren McGill during her WNCL debut between ACT and Victoria // Getty

McGill was also on duty for the match between the same two sides which took place yesterday.

For McGill these appointments came after her inclusion as a member of the WBBL|10 Umpiring Servicing Panel this season, which saw her make her first appearance as a Fourth Umpire at Drummoyne Oval in November.

In Adelaide in the days prior to Christmas, Mitchell Claydon was appointed to umpire the Male U19 National Championships Final at Karen Rolton Oval between Western Australia and Victoria Metro.

His selection marked his third national final in as many seasons, having officiated the U17 Male Final in 2022-23 and the U19 Male Final last summer in Albury.

Since the championships concluded, Claydon has been involved in a number of fixtures in BBL|14 as Fourth Umpire.

On Monday in Ballarat, Kate Rowlands was also selected to umpire her first national final, appointed to the U16 Female National Championships Final at Eastern Oval as New South Wales Metro defeated Queensland to take out the title.

This championship was her second national carnival, with the first coming as she was part of the panel for the female division of last season’s Australian Country Cricket Championships hosted in Newcastle.

Hailing from Casino in the state’s north, earlier this season Rowlands was a member of the umpiring panel for the U19 Female Country Championships in Coffs Harbour.

The U17 Male National Championships begin in Launceston tomorrow, with NSW Premier Cricket Panel One umpire Patrick Jackson, Tasmanian-based member Muhammad Qureshi, and ACT-based member Syed Humayun selected to attend the carnival.

We look forward to celebrating the success of each of these members and many others across the 2024- 25 season at the Annual Dinner and Awards Night, to be held on Saturday 5 April 2025 at Bankstown Sports Club.