Lives in Cricket No 6 - Bill Copson

ten happy years in the job he was presented with a tankard signed by all the other first-class umpires. 40 The only mark of controversy in his umpiring career occurred in 1960, his third season as an umpire, in the South Africans’ match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. Copson and T.J.Bartley no balled the South African bowler Geoff Griffin fifteen times, eight for throwing and seven for dragging. The whole question of 80 Umpiring and Retirement Home from umpiring. Bill Copson parking his car at the back of the family’s shop in Clay Cross. 40 Bill Copson also played a part in the well-known incident in a game at Canterbury between Kent and Hampshire on August Bank Holiday in 1963, with a BBC radio commentary by Peter West and E.W.Swanton, who was inclined to conduct himself as the sole guardian of ‘The Game’ and its high principles. Peter Richardson, the Kent opening bat and Colin Ingleby-McKenzie, Hampshire’s captain decided ‘to set up’ Swanton. On a signal from West in the commentary box, they persuaded Copson – at first reluctant – to walk across the outfield towards the box to complain that ‘the booming noise’, from the full flow of Swanton’s commentary, was distracting the batsmen. Swanton told the radio audience that he couldn’t make out what was happening. By then Copson had reached the boundary and called out, ‘The batsmen are complaining about a loud booming noise. Can you please stop.’ Swanton said to West, ‘What booming noise? I don’t know what they mean.’ West then told him, ‘It’s you they are complaining about; it’s the sound of your voice.’ Swanton was unamused and sent a sharply worded note to Richardson, but our subject escaped unscathed.