Wright gets world’s vote

Northerns Cricket Union president John Wright (above) may have turned his attention to fulltime cricket administration, but there was still time for the 47-year-old to garner one more major hockey accolade on Monday as he was named as the International Male Umpire-of-the-Year for 2017 in Berlin.

Having announced his retirement from umpiring at the end of last year, the award is the cherry on top for Wright in a stellar career that saw him officiate in more than 200 Tests, including three World Cup finals and five Olympic Games, including the Rio de Janeiro final in 2016.

“I am very pleased to receive the award and very grateful to all the hockey umpires who voted for me. I’ve had a wonderful 20-odd years of international umpiring, I’ve been able to travel the world. Hockey has been really great to me,” Wright said.

The award is another feather in the cap of an outstanding administrator, who is not only the Senior Sport Organiser at the Tshwane University of Technology, but has also been at the forefront as chairman of the Titans franchise.

“I would like to congratulate John on a phenomenal achievement. The award is a culmination of his hard work and dedication, and to be internationally recognised as the best in his field is a huge accomplishment. At Northerns cricket we pride ourselves on sporting excellence and John, both in his capacity as president and a former match official, leads by example,” Titans CEO Jacques Faul said.