Paul Reiffel dismisses idea of umpires wearing helmets

Former Australian pacer and ICC elite panel umpire Paul Reiffel has dismissed the idea of umpires wearing helmets following the incident that saw him taken out of play in Mumbai. A loose throw from Bhuvneshwar Kumar smashed into Reiffel’s head. The Australian was removed from the field of play shortly and was subsequently replaced by Marias Erasmus.

Simon Fry took his place in the encounter at Chennai when the ICC deemed Reiffel unfit to officiate at Chepauk. He also went on to add that wearing a cumbersome helmet would be a rather difficult proposition given the fact that many umpires have worn it in the past.

“It would be too heavy and too hot, five days with a helmet on, it just would be impossible,” he said. “It’s hard to hear [with the helmet on]. I’ve put one on and thought ‘could I umpire in this?’, and I thought I’d really struggle.”

Reiffel also took the blame for the accident on the pitch stating that he did not keep his eye on the ball. “Always keep your eye on the ball,” he said. “I just didn’t do it. I feel a bit silly not doing that. It’s like playing; if you watch the ball you should come out all right. It was just an accident. I’d back myself to get out of the way if I see it coming.”

“The batsmen had stopped running, the fieldsmen were taking their time. I must have relaxed and expected him to throw it to the keeper over my head and he decided to throw it halfway to the fieldsman. He got it wrong and hit me on the back of my head. It got me behind the ear and hit me flush, that’s what’s done the damage.”

“Apart from that, I don’t really remember a lot about it. I suppose it did hurt. I’ve watched the replay and I went down pretty quick. I was rolling around a bit. It certainly shook me up.

“The next day you feel as though you should be out there. The England cricket team doctor put me through a few tests and I didn’t pass them that well, so they decided it was best not to do the Test and have a bit of a rest and come back later. The ICC decided it was for the best I had the rest. I’m glad about that because I needed it. I was pretty sick for a few days there.”