Claire Polosak to become the first woman to officiate in the Men’s cricket match

Claire Polosak is all set to become the first woman to officiate in the ongoing JLT One-Day Cup in Australian domestic cricket. She will take the field with the veteran umpire Paul Wilson at Hurstville Oval on Sunday for the match between New South Wales and Cricket Australia XI. Australian pace bowler Mitchell Starc is also expected to feature for the Blues as he returns from the injury ahead of an important Ashes series.

Polosak has never played cricket and has also failed the umpires’ exam quite a few times but now will become the first woman umpire in cricket to do umpiring in the Men’s game. The 29-year-old also officiated four matches during the recently concluded Women’s World Cup which was held in England this year. History will be created on Sunday when she will assist her senior Paul Wilson as the on-field umpire in Sydney.

My parents encouraged me

Claire Polosak has been on the Cricket Australia’s development umpire panel for the past two years and has previously been a third-umpire in men’s domestic cricket. She has no experience of playing the game but said that becoming a cricket umpire had been something she was just determined to do. “I never played cricket, which is a little bit interesting for some people. I always followed cricket, my parents got me into it and Dad would drive me up from Goulburn to do the umpires course. It took a few times to pass but it was something I was determined to do and I kept working through the grades in the Sydney competition,” she told reporters in Sydney.

However, Polosak is not at all perturbed with the rise in the standard of umpiring this weekend and cleared that her preparations for the occasion would not change. “There’s preparation, there’s playing conditions, learning the players, having a meeting with your teammate… discuss what signals you’re going to be using, how you’re going to communicate. Physically, it’s very similar stuff to a player, fitness, core strength, back and legs because you’re standing up on the field for seven hours. I’ve got mental triggers so I’m able to watch every ball as you go, so you can settle into that,” she added.