Farewell, umpire Joel Wilson

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I am shocked by the ICC’s decision to part ways with umpire Joel Wilson. We talk a lot about some local cricket superstars like Bravo, Pollard, Narine, Lara, but we forget other cricket superstars like Daren Ganga, Ian Bishop, Fazeer Mohammed. There is another cricket superstar who no one talks about, and that’s umpire Joel Wilson. Umpiring is a hard job. It is not for the faint of heart; one needs tremendous fortitude to stand in the heat for so long, literally and figuratively.

Nobody is perfect, no umpire is perfect, but he was an elite umpire. The best officials are the ones nobody talks about and he was the best Trinidad and Tobago had to offer, because nobody talked about him.

Wilson is second to Steve Buknor in Tests, second to Steve Bucknor in ODIs, and third to Gregory Brathwaite in T20Is: over 500 international and regional matches. This is in addition to matches in Premiership 1, Premiership 2, Senior Division North Zone, Division 1 North Zone, secondary school competitions, and the beloved QPS, where he was grilled to become the official he is today.

Joel Wilson is the Brian Lara of umpiring to Trinidad and Tobago. He has flown the flag of Trinidad and Tobago and North Zone Cricket Umpires’ and Scorers’ Association of Trinidad and Tobago around the world.

Thank you for your service to cricket and Trinidad and Tobago, the QPS patiently awaits your return.

KENDELL KARAN

Chaguanas