The purpose of this manual is to set out a straightforward account of the Laws of Cricket (October 2010), in a form which the student can easily digest and from which they can learn.
Its primary aim is not to train umpires to pass examinations, but to help them to do a better job on the field of play.
It offers the two essential tools - a good knowledge of the Laws and basic understanding of the principles of applying them on the field of play.
Umpires must remember that in addition to the Laws themselves there may be special regulations applying to particular matches only. When officiating in any match, they will need to know what, if any, those regulations are.
The manual is to be used in conjunction with the Laws of Cricket (2000 Code 4th Edition – 2010). Click to order your copy of the laws.
Within each Law, the points for study are summarised under the heading ‘Analysis points’. The provisions of Law on these points are explained under the heading ‘Commentary’, in which points are lettered to match the Analysis Points.
The page numbers are in the form (for example) Law 15 – 4c. ‘15 – 4’ indicates that this is the 4th page of text about Law 15, not that it is about section 4 of Law 15.
The final ‘c’ indicates that this edition of the Manual refers to the 4th Edition (2010) of the 2000 Code of Laws.
As each point is explained, the student should read the relevant section of the Law itself. The commentaries also include some simple guidance on how the Law is to be applied.
When studying any particular Law, the student should remember to look in the Definitions in Appendix D to the Laws of Cricket.
The Preamble to the Laws – The Spirit of Cricket – also gives guidance on judging what is fair and what is unfair.
After each section there are ‘self-test’ questions. The answers are at the end of the Manual, in Appendix 1. It is strongly advised that the student establishes a good grasp of one section before going on to study another one.