Mick Martell - Cricket
Australian Sports Commission
In some ways Perth’s Mick Martell believes he has bridged the divide between cricket players and umpires. “I am social and I get on well with players,” the 41-year-old umpire says. “I treat players as though they’re part of a [cricket] family, not just two teams playing each other in front of two guys who happen to be standing there in penguin suits. Now there are more umpires socialising, more clubs inviting umpires to social events ... it’s something that wouldn’t have happened five or six years ago.” Martell is passionate about the game. He played for 25 years, but when an arm injury sidelined him, he turned to umpiring. This hear he has already achieved his goal of umpiring a state cricket match (WA v Tas 50 over a side) and was fourth umpire at the One Day International between Australia and Sri Lanka in February. He fits in his umpiring commitments between shifts as a fireman based at Duncraig Fire Station in suburban Perth and says his skills as a fireman help him handle pressure situations “pretty well”. With the help of his National Officiating Scholarship, Martell hopes to consistently work as a national level umpire and to one day stand behind the stumps in an international match.
