Like most Jay Kangar fell in love with cricket at a very early age and he just wanted to be on the field.
He batted and bowled. He was the wicket-keeper and if his team was batting he was happy to the umpire.
At 27 he traded the white pants in for a black pair and became an umpire in Queensland Premier Cricket.
Let’s find out more about Jay’s cricketing journey
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Welcome Jay,
Firstly, what year were you born?
1971
Where did you go the high school?
Cabramatta & Moss Vale High School
Do you remember your first ever game of cricket?
I played U/12’s for Cabra-Vale Diggers in Western Sydney against Mt. Pritchard scored 29 and 3 for 15 against Mark Bosnich side that were the reigning premiers.
Can you tell us about your playing days?
Growing up we moved around a lot. I started playing in Sydney but when I was 14 we moved to Moss Vale and I played for Bowral which back then was a no no. Our U/16 Bowral side went undefeated for 3 years and I was lucky enough to make my 1st debut at age 16 for Bowral against Moss Vale as keeper and opening bat. I made an impressive 0.
When I was 18 I moved to the Port Macquarie and played 1st grade for Kendall. At age 26 I moved to the Gold Coast and played 1st grade for Runaway Bay. I liked to be involved in all aspects of the game batting, bowling and keeper.
What was your highest score?
After retiring from umpiring, I returned back to playing a little bit of cricket on the Gold Coast and played 4th grade for Runaway Bay and got lucky scoring 161 off 62 deliveries against Burleigh. They had one of my work colleagues playing for them and it was on the bats out for Phillip Hughes day – it was a very emotional day after getting to know Phillip and his family through umpiring U/17 & U/19 National carnivals.
What were your best bowling figures?
I got 6 for 11 in a U/16’s Grand Final for Bowral against Rugby.
At what age did you start umpiring?
27
What was the attraction to become an umpire?
When I was growing up and playing lower grades as a 14 & 15 year old, I always wanted to umpire when I got out. Crazy but I always loved being on the cricket field.
Can you remember your first game as an umpire in Brisbane Grade Cricket?
I umpired a Lord Taverner’s match here on the Gold Coast v East’s, the last year of East’s cricket club before becoming Redlands.
How long did it take to progress through to First Grade?
I made 1st Grade after 2 and half years. My 1st game was at old Kerrydale Oval and it was Gold Coast V Sunshine Coast with Tony MacQuillan as my partner
Who were the umpires you admired most when you started out as an umpire? Is there anyone in particular you wanted to model your umpiring on?
Mel Johnson, Trevor (Merv) Musch, Lew Johnson & Norm McNamara. I really didn’t have a model but I umpired the way I expected to be umpired when I played cricket.
You were on Cricket Australia Rookie panel as an umpire, what were your highlights as an umpire?
Umpiring U/19 International 50 overs Quad series in Townsville between Australia, NZ, India and England for 2 weeks.
Umpiring at the Gabba, umpiring an international women’s games between Australia & NZ at Allan Border Field and umpired the Australian Men’s one day side v Queensland at Allan Border Field before they played in Sri Lanka.
Do you know how many games you umpired in Brisbane Grade Cricket?
150 two day games that doesn’t include one day games and T20’s.
What was your most memorable moment as a cricket umpire?
There were 2.
First one was watching Nick Kruger with Darrin Turner facing Ashley Noffke at Nudgee College with a 40 knot wind assist. Very interesting afternoon of umpiring.
Second one was umpiring Lee Carseldine Valleys & Clinton Perren Norths at Alberton Oval. I turned down an LBW appeal that was very close while Clinton was batting and Lee was bowling. There was a fantastic appeal from Lee and I gave him the bad news of not out. Lee told me I can’t believe you didn’t give that and I finally would have had one over Clinton. The story has it, that from a young age those 2 have never ever got each other out when playing against each other. So the tradition continues I believe.
Most favourite ground in Brisbane to umpire?
I enjoyed going to all grounds in Brisbane but favourite is Redlands & Gold Coast.
What’s the most intriguing ground you’ve umpired?
Gold Coast with the power lines going across the ground and watching Andrew Symons hit them twice in an afternoon.
Who were the three batsman you admired most as an umpire in Premier Cricket?
Chris Lynn- there is no one who hits the ball any harder when at full flight which is an amazing sight.
Gavin Fitness- wasn’t always the flashiest batsman but always fought for life and death for his wicket.
Andrew Robinson- Amazing batsman in full flight and could hit the ball to any parts of the ground.
Who were the three bowlers you admired most as an umpire in Premier Cricket?
Chris Swan- Amazing bowler who could swing the ball both ways and you always had to be switched on from ball one.
Dan Doran- wonderful leg spin bowler to umpire and always interesting days in the field.
Matt Petrie- Matt always pressured batsmen with hit a length and swinging deliveries both ways. There weren’t many bad deliveries ever bowled.
Who were the three players you admired most over the years for their competitive spirit and the way they played the game?
Steve Paulsen- Steve was a fighter and would fight always to the very last ball of a game.
Andy Bichel- Always wore his heart on his sleeve as a player, treated the game with respect it deserved.
Darrin Turner- some people may not believe this as Darrin played the game as hard as anyone. Even if he looked like over stepping the mark, Darrin always respected my decision and got on with the game.
We can only assume there were quite a few characters in the game you had to keep an eye on in the field. Is there a particular moment or story you’d like to share about one of the characters?
Damien MacKenzie- Macca was always known to get a little loose on the field while bowling and Daniel Payne was captain for Redlands at the time. Macca was getting a little past being loose and after a couple of chats there was no change.
I then asked Daniel to have a quiet chat to calm Macca down and Daniel’s response was “What if I don’t?”
My response was “You’ll get reported to if Macca doesn’t calm down”.
Next response from Daniel to Macca “Shut the F… up Macca!!!! I’m not getting reported to and get down to fine leg!!!! Rest of the game there was no issues.
Is there any particular game you’ve umpired that stands out above all others?
My 1st First grade semi- final at WEP Harris for University v Wests on an absolute wet track.
Who’s been the biggest influence in your involvement in cricket?
My father
Who was the funniest umpire you’ve had the pleasure to umpire with?
Darren Maloney
Who is your favourite all time cricketer growing up?
Dennis Lillee
What did you enjoy most about umpiring?
Watching a battle between bat and ball
Who would you consider the top 2 umpires in the game today?
Bruce Oxenford and Richard Kettleborough
If you’re in the middle seat of the middle row of Qantas flight to London which two umpires from any level would you choose to on your left and right?
Dave Orchard & Darren Maloney
Did you have any superstitions?
I always got to the ground 1.5 hours early and made sure I double checked everything after not having a shirt for a game at Souths. Had to drive back to the Gold Coast to get one.
Technology – good or bad for cricket from an umpire’s perspective?
Good but always needs improving.
What piece of technology is most valuable to an umpire and why?
Slow mo for run out’s and stumping’s-
What’s the best advice you ever received?
Last delivery is gone and concentrate on the next one.
Do you like the modern game and what can the game do to make it better for umpires?
To be truthful not really, I believe the game is getting longer and adding too many new rules
What advice would you offer a young 20-year-old who has the ambition of umpiring Test Cricket?
Patience as it’s a long way to the top to umpire Test matches and ask as many questions as you can to learn as much as possible.
What are your hobbies?
Golf, fishing, cricket and gardening
Are there any lessons from your time in cricket that you take into work or life in general?
Patience and communication.
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