A LONG- HAIRED UMPIRE AND LOCKIE’S REMARKABLE DEBUT
Umpire Pashchim Girish Pathak, who officiated in the Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad match on Sunday, caught the attention of everyone due to his long flowing hair. In 2015, he surprised everyone by officiating in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match wearing a helmet. Pathak is a strong supporter of the need for umpires to wear helmets as a safety measure. He wore the helmet after seeing visiting Australian umpire John Ward, who officiated in a PunjabTamil Nadu Ranji Trophy match, getting hit on the back of his head by Punjab’s Brainder Sran’s shot. Ward clutched the back of his head and collapsed on the ground while Pathak was the square leg umpire. Ward was then rushed to the hospital immediately, and he recovered soon. Pathak clarified that he had worn the helmet not because of any fear of the ball but mainly as protection, and believes that it could soon become common. Incidentally, some umpires, especially during T20 matches, do wear abdominal guards.
FERGUSON’S MEMORABLE IPL ENTRANCE
Lockie Ferguson, the hero for Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday who was introduced for the first time this season. His full name is Lachlan Hammond Ferguson, however ‘ Lockie’ is his nickname and everyone addresses him that way. Although he is a very calm man by nature, as a bowler he is aggressive. Ferguson has a tattoo on his ring finger. He came to the spotlight while in High School when he won New Zealand’s National Schools Fast Bowling competition. In his One Day International ( ODI) and Twenty20 debut, he took a wicket each in his very first over. In the ODI he dismissed Australia’s
David Warner and in T20 it was Bangladesh’s Shabbir Rehman. Ferguson had once remarked that he had wanted to do well in the IPL ever since he had seen one of his heroes and countryman Brendon McCullum, who hit the first century in the IPL, do so well in this league. However, his favourite batsmen are Martin Guptill and Sachin Tendulkar.