Phil Mattingley is a man on a mission. And while it’s certainly not mission impossible, it’s not the easiest of tasks either because his brief is to increase the number of trained umpires in club cricket in Gloucestershire.

Mattingley has been appointed umpire recruitment officer for the Gloucestershire Association of Cricket Officials – or GACO as it is more commonly known – and is the first person to take on the role.

And a very important role it is too because as is well known within the game, the number of umpires has been declining for some years now.

“We don’t want to get to the stage where there is decent standard cricket being played but we don’t have enough umpires for the games,” said Mattingley, an umpire himself.

He reckons that there are now fewer than 125 active umpires in the county, which is some way short of the 200 he thinks ideally are needed to cover the plethora of Saturday, Sunday and midweek games at all levels.

But while he admits “numbers have dwindled considerably” he does not believe he has been given an impossible job.

“No I don’t,” he insisted. “I’m a realist, I don’t want to see numbers continue to fall but if we can gain 20 umpires and lose, say, 10 through retirement and other reasons over a year then I think that’s an achievement.

”I don’t want to put a limit on the number of umpires we’d like but retention is as important as recruitment.”

The ECB have said they’d like to see 24,000 officials in recreational cricket across the country by the end of 2024 – those officials don’t include just umpires – but it’s on the back of that drive that Mattingley, a building surveyor, was appointed to his new role a year ago.

Covid meant that any initial recruitment plans had to be put on the back-burner but, nonetheless, Mattingley says that “Gloucestershire are seen as a shining light as far as the ECB are concerned”.

That’s because Mattingley and his team are ready to push through their initiatives and it really is full steam ahead because they are targeting anyone and everyone who may be interested.

That includes secondary school pupils, club players – men and women – as well as disability cricketers.

“We’re working alongside the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation who do a lot of work in schools,” said Mattingley, who is supported by seven or eight other recruiting officers.

“Becoming an umpire is something that would look very good on someone’s CV when they are trying to go to college or applying for a job.

“Ideally I’d like to see, say, two 15 or 16-year-old boys or girls umpiring an under-12 or under-13 county boys or girls game.”

That would look pretty good on anyone’s CV and there’s another benefit as well because umpires who have had the required training receive expenses once they reach a certain level, with the expenses more generous the higher the standard of cricket.

“Umpires receive expenses after they have trained through Stage 1 and Stage 2, have joined the ECB, received their DBS certificate and been appointed to fixtures through their area appointments officers,” Mattingley confirmed.

Mattingley is also working closely with clubs throughout the area to identify those men and women who are coming to the end of their playing days and would like to stay involved in the great game that is cricket in some way, shape or form.

The same applies to disability cricketers and anyone who shows any interest in umpiring would initially be put through a free introductory course.

“Interest in umpiring would suggest they participate in our ECB three-hour introductory course to be followed on by Stage 1 and Stage 2,” said Mattingley, who was named Gaco’s umpire of the year in 2021.

There are no formal exams at the end of the course but there is obviously a lot more to umpiring than just counting to six each over.

A knowledge of the laws is paramount, of course, but any prospective umpires will need an ability to concentrate for long periods, as well as being able to deal with any unexpected onfield situations.

“We make sure that anyone who is starting out is paired with an established umpire who will act as their mentor on the day,” said Mattingley, who is a member of an 18-strong team of umpire trainers.

“GACO will also appoint the new umpire recruits with a season-long mentor who they can talk to as often as required and be appointed to stand with during the season.”

There’s clearly a lot of work going on to push the numbers up and it’s easy to see why because while there are still enough umpires for the top divisions in the West of England Premier League, that is not always the case when you move into Division Two of the Gloucestershire County League.

So why have the number of umpires dropped off?

“The pandemic hasn’t helped,” said Mattingley, whose son Sam plays for Redmarley. “A lot of our more senior members have decided, quite rightly, that they don’t want to risk their health. Others have found different things to do, some moved out of the area and sometimes player behaviour can cause people to give up because they just didn’t enjoy it.”

But while a few have stepped away because they don’t enjoy it, that’s not something that Mattingley is planning to do any time soon.

The 53-year-old stopped playing cricket for Eldersfield some three years ago – “The mind was willing but the flesh was weak,” he laughed – and becoming a ‘full-time’ umpire was a natural progression for him.

“I trained to be an umpire back in the 80s when I was 17 with what was then the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers,” he said. “I’ve always loved sport and I’ve always loved cricket and I just wanted to remain involved when I stopped playing.

”The best way to stay involved is to stand in the middle. You’ve got the best seat in the house, you see every ball and you can build up a rapport with the players and your colleagues.”

And while umpiring has been good for Mattingley, he’s been good for cricket in the area because he is clearly a very good official.

He has progressed up the umpire pyramid rapidly and he puts that down to the support and encouragement he has  received from colleagues as well as own enthusiasm and interest in progression. 

“I’m on Premier One for WEPL," he said. "Last year I did my first Gloucestershire 2nds multi-day game against Scotland.”

That was a two-day game at Rockhampton and the Gloucestershire side included the likes of Iain Cockbain, Benny Howell and Jack Taylor.

That was a step up for Mattingley but he said: “I used my nerves as a strength, I enjoyed it.”

It remains a hobby for Mattingley but he does have ambitions.

“I’d like to try to get on the National Panel eventually,” he said. “I don’t think I can go higher than that but that would mean doing Minor Counties games, more county 2^nd XI, university games and the Royal London Cup.”

That would be another challenge, of course, but Mattingley likes a challenge – he’s been a Swindon Town season-ticket holder since 1978! – and if anyone is able to halt the decline in umpiring numbers, it’s surely him.