Talk about poachers turned gamekeepers ! The latest addition to the Southern Premier/Hampshire League umpire's panel is none other than Trojans oft controversial batsman Simon Williams, who makes his debut in the white coat in Fareham & Crofton's County Division 1 match against Old Tauntonians & Romsey II at Bath Lane today.
Williams, who accumulated a tidy 5,234 SPL runs including four centuries and 31 fifty-plus scores, has been training to become an umpire since he realised he wouldn't be adding to his run tally due to a nagging wrist injury for which he has already undergone surgery.
"I'm really looking forward to it. It's my way of putting something back into the game I've loved since I played all those back garden Test matches with my dad (Trevor) and brother Paul," he explained.
"It will be a lot of fun umpiring guys I've played with and against over a long period of time and it will be a totally new experience for me."
Williams, who accumulated a tidy 5,234 SPL runs including four centuries and 31 fifty-plus scores, has been training to become an umpire since he realised he wouldn't be adding to his run tally due to a nagging wrist injury for which he has already undergone surgery.
"I'm really looking forward to it. It's my way of putting something back into the game I've loved since I played all those back garden Test matches with my dad (Trevor) and brother Paul," he explained.
"It will be a lot of fun umpiring guys I've played with and against over a long period of time and it will be a totally new experience for me."
