ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – Retired ICC Elite Panel umpire, Billy Doctrove believes Caribbean umpires are not getting a fair break on the international stage.
Doctrove, who quit after 14 years as an international umpire, made the assertion while addressing local umpires during celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the West Indies Cricket Umpires Association last weekend.
“I must say that from my own observation that I do not believe that we are being treated as equals among umpire associations in the world,” Doctrove pointed out.
“We are still being looked at as inferior and this is something that really hurts me. We have shown that we have umpires in our region that can go to the very top and make it big and be successful.
“For some reason, I do not know if it because our team now is a weak one, so I think that they are related.”
Doctrove, who hails from Dominica, stood in 38 Tests, 112 One-Day Internationals, and 17 Twenty20 Internationals.
His last assignment was the second Test between New Zealand and South Africa in Hamilton in March.
Doctrove said that officials from the Caribbean were not always accorded the same respect as their international peers and he urged local umpires to redouble their efforts to prove themselves.
“Generally, I am of the view that our associations and our umpires in the region are being looked at and treated as second class and this is something that we have to recognize,” Doctrove lamented.
“Coming from a small country like Dominica we have to work doubly hard to make it to where the other guys are. This is something that we have to live with, we have to acknowledge it.
“However, we have to continue to work hard so that we prove ourselves and our worth.”
