I know people are tired of this column whining on about the Interpro's so difficult though it might be, you'll be glad to hear that the subject is strictly taboo this time. Probably just as well too as there's a different bee in the bonnet at the minute and that is the North West umpiring situation.

It is barely relevant to the point but like many of our former and current officials I studied for three sets of umpiring exams in the space of two years from 2000. Believe it or not umpires want to provide as professional a service as they can to clubs and players given that they know what it takes to run a cricket club. During umpires' training, things like respect and spirit of the game were drummed into us. I remember clearly for example, Davy Caldwell spending half an hour one night showing us why it is so important to treat a number 11 batsman the way you treat a number 1 batsman. It was a real eye-opener.

Without wanting to labour the point I finished umpiring in 2009 having spent a summer of Saturdays (and most Sundays) leaving home around 11am and returning around 9pm. On days when the other half was working I paid a childminder to keep an eye on Adam who was 8. I'm only telling you this to help explain that no umpire does it for money. If he does, he can't count. I did it because I loved being involved in North West cricket- that's it- no other reason.

Fast forward to today and the game has moved on at such a pace. There is even more responsibility now; rule change after rule change, different rules for different competitions, inner circles, outer circles, Duckworth Lewis, Power Plays, you name it, its going on. And yet still and all our umpires study and train and give everything they have to try to keep pace with it all. In the main the clubs and players respect that, however an ever increasing number have been spoiling it for everybody else. Cowardly verbal attacks on guys who could quite easily be doing something else seem to be on the increase and it needs to be stamped out now.

In the past couple of seasons we have lost far too many good umpires. I am amazed at the number of games I have been to this year where knowledgeable men are walking around the boundary when they could easily be out in the middle. Worse still, former International umpires who have loads to offer our game find it easier to sit at home watching TV on a Saturday afternoon. And if you're looking to know why, David Bradley and Garth Donaghey are two glaring examples of why.

This season both men have been doing fixtures and appointments between them. Garth won't mind me pointing out that this has been as traumatic a 12 months as anyone can imagine on a personal level. David is only recently married and obviously Gemma is a very understanding partner. He has tried to combine his appointment duties with his umpiring, his Cricket Operations duties, his Board of Control duties and his Umpire secretary duties. Thankfully Roly Black has been able to step in to help him. Strangely enough though, 90% of the correspondence David has to deal with isn't people patting him on the back but an endless barrage of complaints. Why did we get no umpires, why did we only get one umpire, why did we get THAT umpire. David has tried knitting umpires to satisfy the demand but so far to no avail.

On the field too there has been an increase in the abuse being directed at umpires and it is that as much as anything that is creating the problems. Would you give up your Saturdays week after week to listen to abuse? Well, maybe that explains why we're now down to a hard core of less than 20 umpires in the North West at present. And why clubs are then wondering why there aren't enough to cover matches. And do you know what their reply to it is when they're told? Does that mean we're getting a refund on our fees!! Do they not understand that umpires need those fees to pay people to clean their villas in the Dominican Republic?

North West umpires will vouch for the fact that we have a system in place whereby they are often assessed either by their senior colleague or from the boundary. Umpires make mistakes and there have been many issues discussed in private with various individuals this season. To a man they have embraced this system because it allows them to learn from those mistakes. The association has had its own problems but the guys have rallied round to make the best of what they've got however recent developments have taken us to an ugly new low. I can't and won't comment on them here until the right people have considered them first but they need to be dealt with in no uncertain manner if we are to have any umpires left.

We look to be in for a fantastic end to the domestic season and it would be such a shame if the nonsense was to capture the headlines instead of the real action.

Finally for now I would just like to offer full support to Bobby Rao, Ian McGregor and the Warriors - keep fighting the good fight lads. Cricket Ireland won't impress the ICC by pointing to how many cups somebody has won today, but by pointing to what we're doing to make us stronger in the future.