Dunne praying for home-town cricket Test (18 December 1998)

18 December 1998

Dunne praying for home-town cricket Test

The Christchurch Press

New Zealand's leading cricket umpire Steve Dunne prays Dunedin's weather won't rain on his Carisbrook debut today, as it did 10 seasons ago.

Dunne is determined that at least one ball shall be bowled against India so he can tell his grandchildren he stood in a test in his home city. Otago's climate thwarted his bid a decade ago when he was to make his test umpiring debut against Pakistan.

"All the preparations were being made for the game, the teams were warming up and then it started drizzling ... and continued for three days," Dunne ruefully recalled.

The match became the first and only test in New Zealand ever abandoned without a ball bowled. The teams eventually played a limited-overs encounter when the rain finally stopped.

"I hope that won't happen again, but I must say the conditions today are similar to what they were then with a fresh nor-easter and some cloud clinging around the hills," said Dunne yesterday.

When he does walk to the wicket it will be a different Dunne, by his own admission, to the overawed official with just a handful of first-class games behind him in 1989.

This time the experienced Dunne, 55, is standing in his 30th test and has stood in matches around the world being on the International Cricket Council's panel of neutral officials. Dunne stood in the first match featuring a neutral when he umpired a Pakistan-New Zealand test with England's Dickie Bird in 1994.

Dunne's reputation as a highly regarded official has grown over the seasons and in recent months he has been to England to control a test against South Africa; Canada for a Pakistan-India one-day series in Toronto; Dhaka (Bangladesh) for the knockout World Cup; and Sharjah for a tri-nation one-day series.

Dunne said although the panel for neutral umpires had been established for tests some non-test playing nations wanted top umpires for one-day series now while others invited overseas umpires to remove any suggestion of home-town bias.

Umpiring is now Dunne's full-time occupation having not held a "normal" job for the last four years, after winding up a clothing company in 1994, coincidentally just weeks before his ICC panel appointment.

"I tried to get a job once but when people realise the amount of time you are going to be away then no-one will wear that," said Dunne, who during the last year estimates umpiring commitments have taken about nine months.

Dunne is now supportive of the increasing role technology is playing in the game after initially being against its introduction. He admits it can be invaluable to have the electronic eye to assist with a dodgy bat-pad decision for example where his view can be obscured.

But Dunne says he needs a special aid of his own whenever assigned to do a match at Carisbrook, the world's southern most test venue - thermal underwear without which he says he would struggle.

Source :: The Christchurch Press (http://www.press.co.nz/)

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