Highlights
- Claire Polosak first officiated a men’s domestic one-day match in Australia, October 2017.
- She officiated with another woman umpire in the WBBL final on 28 November 2020.
- First female umpire to officiate in a men’s test match as the fourth umpire on Jan 2021.
"My message to all the wonderful women on International Women’s Day is that we should all choose to challenge anything that feels important to us, to improve ourselves and each other every day," says Claire Polosak.
Claire recently became the first female cricket umpire to officiate as the fourth umpire in a men's international cricket match. She had accepted the assignment in the third test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia in January 2021.
Always a keen observer of cricket
Claire’s love affair with cricket began at a young age. She grew up in country New South Wales and every year she would visit Sydney to watch an international test match with her family.
Years later, she would become the first female cricket umpire in the history of men's international test cricket.
Fourth Umpire Claire Polosak looks on as she becomes the first female umpire to officiate in a Men's Test Match. Source: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Early days in umpiring
Claire's passion for the game led her to years of hard work as a teenager.
“My dad used to pick me straight from school to attend the umpire's training course with the New South Wales Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association (NSWCUSA) in Sydney, and we used to go back home the same day," she says, recalling the early days of her journey into the field of umpiring.
"Due to the lack of cricket playing experience, I was initially struggling with the 'Laws of the cricket' and failed the test a couple of times."
Breakthrough in the year 2005
Eventually, Claire passed the test to become an official umpire in 2005 and began umpiring in Goulburn. In 2008, she moved to Sydney for university studies and started umpiring in premier cricket there too.
“In my early days of umpiring, my supporters told me that players are appealing more at your end and more frequently," she says. "This feedback did not affect my confidence as I love cricket, I love being involved, when I am on the ground, I am in my zone, and I have proved people wrong in many ways."
Before umpiring cricket in Goulburn, Claire and her brother used to umpire softball matches together.
Fourth Umpire Claire Polosak looks on as she becomes the first female umpire to officiate in a Men's Test Match. Source: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
“Umpiring in softball matches helped me understand that not every decision you take will make people happy... Decisions taken in tense moments have helped me a lot in knowing how to handle the criticism."
Polosak had a slow and steady start in umpiring in NSW premier cricket, but her dedication and persistence have driven her to success.
John Colwell, the NSW women’s umpires match appointment officer, remembers her dedication to the craft.
“The first contact with Claire was her as a keen, fresh-faced young female seeking opportunities to improve her skills and advance as an umpire. She was reasonably talented and driven to push herself to achieve her dream of being a first class or test umpire. She had a positive intent on the challenges she set herself.”
Take positives from everyone
Asked whether she has a cricketing idol, or a favourite player or athlete, Claire says she doesn't pick favourites.
“I do not have any idol in particular, but I learned from everyone I stood with and took positive from them.”
"I might be sounding biased, but my sister-in-law Lisa Darmanin is a silver medallist in Sailing in RIO Olympics 2016. Watching Lisa was so inspiring to me. Also, I remember being a high school student I read an article from Simon Taufel from NSWCUSA’s magazine. It was one reason I wanted to try my luck in cricket umpirin, aiming to umpire at the highest level."
Family support is a must
Polosak believes “no athlete can get success by themselves.”
“You must have a good support system around you," she says. "In the early days, I was quite lucky that my parents looked after me very well, and I'm currently getting great support from my husband.”
“I am also well supported and getting mentorship from Darren Goodger, Head of competitions and officiating, and Ben Treloar, the umpire’s educator from Cricket NSW.”
Reserve umpire Claire Polosak takes the old ball from umpire Paul Wilson during day two of the Third Test match in the series between Australia and India . Source: Mark Kolbe - CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images
You need to have a small group of people for the mentorship, from whom you can learn, trust, and have open and honest conversations.
Claire Polosak is also a full-time Cricket NSW employee. She is thankful to the organisation for investing in women's cricket to help it grow.
"It's great to watch the number of kids come to watch the women’s cricket matches. I saw many kids wearing female cricketer jerseys, which was a big win for women’s cricket."
Cricket Australia also today announced an intent to begin redress an imbalance between men and women in the game with the decision to celebrate a women cricketing great in statue-form at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Gender doesn’t matter
The best compliment Claire can think of is “to be accepted as an umpire regardless of gender" in a sport clearly dominated by men and the men's game.
Her advice to younger athletes, aspiring athletes and young women alike is simple.
“Feedback is a gift. Do not afraid to make mistakes and learn from them.“
** Chinmay Mehta is the author of this piece and has been an Umpire with the NSW Umpire’s Association since 2011.
