Dick French
Encyclopedia
Richard Allan French, (born 7 August 1938 in Sydney, New South Wales), was an Australian Test cricket match umpire.
He umpired 19 Test matches
between 1977 and 1987. His first match was between Australia
and India
at Perth
on 16 December to 21 December 1977, won by Australia by 2 wickets with Tony Mann
becoming the first Australian night-watchman
to score a century, and the 41 year-old Bob Simpson
scoring his 1st century for 10 years, having come out of retirement to lead an Australian team depleted by defections to World Series Cricket
. His partner was Robin Bailhache
.
French’s last Test match was between Australia and New Zealand
at Melbourne
on 26 December to 30 December 1987, a drawn match with the last Australian batsmen (Craig McDermott
and Mike Whitney
). Richard Hadlee
took 10 wickets for the match. French’s colleague was Tony Crafter
.
French also umpired 57 One Day International (ODI) matches between 1979 and 1988.
He umpired 68 first-class matches in his career between 1976 and 1988.
French is NSW State Director of Umpiring, and a current member of the Cricket Australia
Umpire Selection Panel and its Technical Committee.
He umpired 19 Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
between 1977 and 1987. His first match was between Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
and India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
at Perth
WACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
on 16 December to 21 December 1977, won by Australia by 2 wickets with Tony Mann
Tony Mann (cricketer)
Anthony Longford Mann is a former Australian cricketer who played in 4 Tests from 1977 to 1978....
becoming the first Australian night-watchman
Nightwatchman (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a nightwatchman is a lower-order batsman who comes in to bat higher up the order than usual near the end of the day's play...
to score a century, and the 41 year-old Bob Simpson
Bob Simpson (cricketer)
Robert Baddeley Simpson AO is a former cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and Australia, captaining the national team from 1963–64 until 1967–68, and again in 1977–78. He later had a highly successful term as the coach of the Australian team...
scoring his 1st century for 10 years, having come out of retirement to lead an Australian team depleted by defections to World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
. His partner was Robin Bailhache
Robin Bailhache
Robin Carl Bailhache, , is a former Australian Test cricket match umpire.He umpired 27 Test matches between 1974 and 1988. His first match was between Australia and England at Brisbane on 29 November to 4 December 1974, won by Australia by 166 runs with Jeff Thomson taking 9 wickets...
.
French’s last Test match was between Australia and New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
at Melbourne
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
on 26 December to 30 December 1987, a drawn match with the last Australian batsmen (Craig McDermott
Craig McDermott
Craig John McDermott is a former Australian cricketer. He is currently the bowling coach for the Australian cricket team....
and Mike Whitney
Mike Whitney
Michael Roy Whitney is an Australian television personality and former cricketer, who played in 12 Tests and 38 ODIs from 1981 to 1993....
). Richard Hadlee
Richard Hadlee
Sir Richard John Hadlee, MBE is a former New Zealand cricketer who played provincial cricket for Canterbury, Nottinghamshire and Tasmania. He is the son of Walter Hadlee, and the brother of Dayle and Barry Hadlee. His former wife Karen also played international cricket for New Zealand.Hadlee was...
took 10 wickets for the match. French’s colleague was Tony Crafter
Tony Crafter
Anthony Ronald Crafter, , was an Australian Test cricket match umpire.He umpired 33 Test matches between 1979 and 1992, the highest number by an Australian umpire to that time...
.
French also umpired 57 One Day International (ODI) matches between 1979 and 1988.
He umpired 68 first-class matches in his career between 1976 and 1988.
French is NSW State Director of Umpiring, and a current member of the Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia, formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board, is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket...
Umpire Selection Panel and its Technical Committee.