Top cop now also top cricket umpire
Based on his sterling performance during the tournament, Capt Moola umpired the final between SAPS Western Cape and SAPS Northern Cape
Local police officer Captain Clayton Moola had the privilege of representing the SAPS Cricket Umpires Association at the National Police T20 Cricket Championships which were held in Bloemfontein from October 10 to 14.
Nine provinces plus the SAPS Head Office (Pretoria) made it 10 teams in total that participated in a round robin format, with the top two teams battling it out for gold, while the bronze medal play-off was between the third and fourth places.
As far as the umpiring was concerned, a total of 16 umpires were officiated to umpire the tournament. Eight Cricket South Africa (CSA) umpires and eight from the SAPS Cricket Umpires Association (CUA) were present, Capt Moola being the only individual from KwaZulu-Natal.
Unbeknownst to Capt Moola, two adjudicators (also from CSA) judged all the umpires on their performance and ‘positioning’ on the technical aspects of the game by allocating points to each umpire.
Furthermore, the captains had to report on all performances of the respective umpires per match and the evaluation was based on the reports submitted. Based on his sterling performance during the tournament, Capt Moola umpired the final between SAPS Western Cape and SAPS Northern Cape, while SAPS Free State and SAPS Eastern Cape did battle for the bronze medal.
“All matches were of a very high standard, with SAPS Western Cape being the eventual gold medal winners and SAPS Eastern Cape being the silver medallists,” said Capt Moola.
Clayton was judged ‘Best Umpire’ and ‘Best Newcomer’, as well as gaining his SAPS National Colours for umpiring during the tournament.
He will now go on tour with the national teams, both male and female, of which the SAPS Women’s Tournament is still to be announced. He is looking forward to his next challenge and that is the Male Inter-Forces Nationals which will be held in Paarl during February next year.
Having gained his SAPS National Colours, Capt Moola will soon be attending official CSA umpire courses. Who knows, he may soon be officiating international matches watched by millions of cricket lovers all over the world on national television. Congratulations, Capt Moola, we salute you, sir.
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