From “What just happened?” to Old Trafford:
Kirsty Blackham’s rapid rise in umpiring
Three years ago, Kirsty Blackham didn’t really know what had just happened on a cricket field!
She’d just taken a caught and bowled, as it turns out — and while everyone else celebrated, she stood there wondering why. Fast-forward to now and she’s umpired at Old Trafford, officiated England Under-19s, stood in List A women’s cricket, and become a familiar face in the Liverpool & District Premier League.
Not bad for someone who never planned to umpire at all.
Kirsty’s route into the middle wasn’t mapped out by pathways or ambition. It started with playing, confusion, curiosity, and a free online course taken simply to understand what was going on. One phone call later, she was asked to umpire a T20 — despite never having done it before. A baptism by fire followed, and the rest, as she puts it, is history.
What stands out isn’t just the speed of her progression, but how normal she makes it sound. Within a year of starting, she was umpiring Premier League cricket. Within three, she was on the national pathway. Her explanation? “No two games are ever the same. There’s always something new to learn.”
That learning mindset has taken her far beyond Merseyside. Kirsty has officiated at cricket festivals and tournaments across Europe, Africa and Asia — from Vienna to Kenya, Thailand to Switzerland. The most surreal? Cricket on ice. Literally. A compacted snow surface, an astro strip down the middle, and even a sinkhole sprayed blue mid-match to stop anyone disappearing into it – which still managed to happen!
Despite the travel, the glamour isn’t what drives her. Many tournaments are self-funded, at least initially, and umpiring is still balanced around full-time work and family life. What keeps her coming back is the variety — new grounds, new players, new challenges — and the simple satisfaction of doing the job well.
That job, of course, isn’t always easy. Premier League men’s cricket, particularly timed games, is mentally draining. Appeals are louder, margins finer, and the pressure constant. Kirsty admits that early on, mistakes lingered. A potential wrong decision may sit in her head – now, she parks it, reviews the footage later, and learns.
Technology has helped. With streaming, body cams and detailed post-match analysis tools now common at higher levels, umpires are better supported than ever. Feedback is structured, constructive, and focused on improvement rather than blame. It’s a far cry from the idea that umpires are left to fend for themselves.
Gender inevitably comes up, but Kirsty doesn’t dwell on it. She describes her first Premier League game as “just another game”. Players were respectful, captains’ marks were strong, and any idea that she’d be treated differently quickly faded. Familiarity, she says, may change behaviour — but that’s true for any umpire, not just female ones.
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One area that does test her patience is regulation overload. Different formats, different competitions, different interpretations — especially around things like waist-height no-balls versus wides. Preparation becomes essential. Kirsty reads regulations the night before and treats each game as its own exam. Ask her which format she prefers and the answer is immediate: T20s. Timed cricket, while traditional, is a long mental haul. Women’s cricket, by contrast, is described as intense but “nicer” — competitive without the same edge. It’s an atmosphere that even her children have noticed.
Looking ahead, Kirsty isn’t chasing headlines. She’s being nudged further up the women’s pathway, and remains open to where it all might lead. Her advice to any young girl watching from the boundary? Simple.
“If I can do it, you can. I knew nothing about cricket. Just have confidence, learn from mistakes, and keep going.”
For club cricket, it’s a reminder that umpires don’t just appear. They’re developed, supported, and — sometimes — discovered entirely by accident.
