A new ECB Umpire Course has already been attended by more than 2,500 people, with females accounting for almost a quarter of all participants – and umpire tutors Anna and Yolanda are at the coalface.
Inspired by their own experiences and determined to give something back, they’re actively working to empower women and girls with the skills and confidence to begin their officiating journeys.
Yolanda was the original instigator of Anna’s umpiring career 10 years ago.
“When Anna was at school, she complained she wasn’t getting enough pocket money so I told her to qualify as an umpire,” Yolanda said.
“That way she could earn money on Saturdays and play cricket on Sundays. It all grew from there.”
The benefits for Anna, though, soon began to stretch beyond a few extra pounds in her pocket – especially when the pair began umpiring the same fixtures in the Thames Valley League.
“When I first started umpiring, we’d do games together,” Anna said.
“Mum used to work in the city, doing project management, so it was so useful sharing those experiences and having a strong female role model who wouldn’t take any nonsense. Mum knows what she will and won’t accept.
“In contrast, I was a young person finding my feet in the world, unsure of whether I should step up and challenge people when they questioned my decisions. But now, I’m more confident. I don’t take much rubbish, but I also lean on my playing experience to understand the situation better, recognise where some of the frustrations are, and give a bit of flexibility where I can.”
Yolanda remembers those early days well.
“It was special to umpire with Anna,” she said. “I watched her rise, and I knew she’d be phenomenal.
“She’s very capable and composed, and that’s got absolutely nothing to do with me. That’s just who she is. Seeing her out there now, she looks so good and has so much control.”
She adds: “I remember her debut at the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa. It was her first T20 international and she called play for the opening match of the tournament.
“I was somewhere else in South Africa, sitting there with a tour guide and watching it all unfold on his phone. People in the cafe kept asking me to order food and I was too nervous. I just said, ‘No, go away, I can’t eat yet.’
“About halfway through, I relaxed and could see how well she’d done.”
Today, the pair are combining their experience in an effort to attract even more women and girls into officiating.
Yolanda qualified as an ECB officiating tutor late last year, and in April 2025 her and Anna delivered a women’s and girls’ officiating course in Buckinghamshire that attracted attendees aged 14 and up.
“It’s very powerful having women deliver these courses,” says Yolanda. “It makes it a more comfortable space for women and girls who might otherwise feel intimidated or judged due to a lack of cricket knowledge.
“I spoke to one woman – middle-aged, with a family and a job – who said she felt physically sick before going into an umpire’s course.
“That anxiety is real, so creating a super-safe environment where we can all laugh, and nobody’s banging on about what (Mike) Gatting did in 1980-something, is really important.”
It is a sentiment that Anna agrees with.
“I’ve run three women’s and girls’ courses so far, and they’ve all been really well attended,” she said. “I always leave with a smile on my face. The courses are practical, so it’s not like being back in school sitting and rote learning.
“You get hands-on experience and there are no stupid questions. I’d say to anyone, ‘give it a go.’ If nothing else, it’s a day of your life spent playing cricket and if umpiring’s not for you, there’s always another role.”
The ECB has recently invested heavily in developing more umpire tutors across England and Wales. In turn, this has seen more female tutors delivering the ECB Umpire Course and actively supporting the growing number of competitions in women’s and girls’ cricket.
“The win will be when people no longer say, ‘I didn’t know we had lady umpires’,” Yolanda said.
“When you walk out onto the field, and nobody bats an eyelid because you’re just an umpire. When we get to the point where a woman is umpiring an England men’s match. That’ll be the win. That’ll be awesome.”
Interested in trying officiating? Find your next ECB Umpire Course today.