Number of men who have played Test cricket for Australia: 443. Number of Australians who have umpired a Test: 91. Number who have done both: five. Number who have done both in the post-war era: one. At least for the time being. Paul Wilson hopes one day to double that last figure and join his former team-mate Paul Reiffel as a rare modern Australian Test player turned Test umpire.Already Wilson has taken some giant strides - at his size there are no other kind - and stood in four ODIs and four T20Is. Hard work and determination gained him a baggy green and those same qualities will be required to earn the umpiring equivalent. On sheer numbers alone it is a massive challenge: the ICCs Elite Panel, from whom most Test umpiring appointments are made, consists of only 12 men.I want to do Test cricket, but its a patience game - just keep getting more experience and do more games, Wilson says. Again, its being in the right place at the right time.There is a reason he used the word again. Right place, right time is how he describes his 1998 call-up to Australias Test team. But that phrase suggests his baggy green was won via nothing but luck. Wilson worked hard to put himself in the right place and waited for the right time to arrive.Like many Test players of the 1990s, he came through the pathway of the Australian Cricket Academy. So far, so normal. But what was unusual was how he came to the Academy. While still a teenager, Wilson left his Newcastle home and travelled halfway across the country to Adelaide to pitch his case to Academy director Rod Marsh.This was not how the Academy worked. Scholars were invited; they didnt just turn up and gatecrash. Until Wilson.I just rocked up to the Academy offices, Wilson says. I said, Im looking to see Rod Marsh... Rod said, Try to get rid of him. Begrudgingly, Rod accepted me to come into his office and say hello. As he describes it, he says, Heres this large lump of a lad who filled in the doorway. Our friendship started from there.You look back at it now and being a father of three kids, I cant sit back and say, dont go and do something unconventional. It was genuinely unconventional at the time, and no one else has really done it since. It was a unique thing and Im very glad I did it.Wilson was given a few weeks at the Academy, which turned into a few months, which eventually turned into a full scholarship. Within a couple of years he had made his domestic one-day debut for his adopted state of South Australia, and a Sheffield Shield debut came in 1995-96. His trajectory kept rising, an ODI call-up coming in 1997-98, and a place on the Test tour of India that followed.Glenn McGrath missed the tour due to a torn abdominal muscle, and Australias attack in the first Test in Chennai was made up of Michael Kasprowicz, Paul Reiffel, Shane Warne and Gavin Robertson. Wilson was just happy to be part of the squad. But come the second Test in Kolkata, he became Australias 376th Test cricketer.I found out the morning of the match, he says. My now umpiring partner Paul Reiffel had got injured in the first Test, so I was in the mix along with Adam Dale, who at that stage hadnt played. And Stuart MacGill was on that tour, and Greg Blewett was bowling some overs... so its me, Dale or MacGill, and I was lucky to get the call-up at Eden Gardens.Mark Taylor announced it, got presented with the cap, the old process from the captain. I was honestly blessed to play one game. There were a handful of guys who werent available for selection for that tour and also that Test match. I was in the right place at the right time, and I was extremely lucky to play one Test match.Not that the match went to plan for Wilson, whose entire Test record consists of 12 overs for 50 runs without a wicket, and no runs from two innings. He remembers the noise of Eden Gardens, the thrill of playing at such a marquee venue, the obsession of Indian fans who knew everything about his career - and the devastation of breaking down with injury mid-match.It was the back end of a long summer and we all go into matches carrying a couple of niggles, he says. What I thought was a niggle was worse than that, and during the Test match it went bang. I did a groin in the Test match and later on was diagnosed with osteitis pubis, which was not really well known at that stage but its a very common one these days.To me it was the devastation of knowing in your own mind youve got an injury thats not going to get you through the Test, let alone the rest of the tour... You know in the back of your own mind that this might be my only chance, and it was. You didnt have to be Einstein to work that out, with all the number of players coming through the system and onto the scene, that it was probably going to be my only chance.And so it was. Wilson never represented Australia again, in any format. He played out his career with South Australia and then Western Australia, and wondered what he would do when it all ended. Coaching was his first move, but something had nagged at him even during his playing days. He describes it as an itch he had to scratch. He wanted to become an umpire.His timing was good, for in the early 2000s, Cricket Australia was keen to get more former first-class players involved in umpiring, hence Reiffel and Rod Tucker were being welcomed into a project panel. After they were promoted to the full national panel in 2005, Wilson was the next in line. Not that he was lured into it; he instigated the move himself, having discussed the career with umpire Daryl Harper as early as 2002.Its a pretty major decision, he says. In Australia it was uncommon for first-class players to go into umpiring. Rod and Paul were trailblazers. In England its very common. In fact, the majority of the national panel are former first-class players. I thought, Why not? I took the plunge.It took some getting used to, being out on the field but not as a competitor. Concentrating on every single ball of a days play, often for several days in a row.Early on, you probably found yourself drifting, you find yourself going through the old habits of someone fielding at fine leg or mid-on or mid-off, Wilson says. But the routines as a player in the field arent dissimilar to an umpire. You switch up, switch down. When the bowler runs in, as a batter youre switching on for that ball to be bowled, and as an umpire its no different.We try and find a bit of downtime while the ball is dead. But once the bowler is running in you switch on again. Those things that became second nature as a player became very handy as an umpire. You just need to adjust it slightly, because you have to be on and off all day every day as an umpire.What did he find hard at first?Its the nuances, the signals, being on the right side, going to the right side when the ball is in play, staying still, concentrating on the front foot, then bringing the ball into focus - all those things that as an experienced umpire ten years down the track I take for granted as part of my routine. Its a completely different world to being a player, even though were on the same ground.He also learnt quickly that there is far more to being an umpire than making out or not-out decisions. A good umpire is a good man manager, who can defuse a tense situation before it goes too far, or prevent one entirely by communicating well in the first place. And that communication is not only with players, coaches and ground staff, but as you rise to the elite level, it is event managers, media managers, all sorts of additional stakeholders.At the core of the job, though, are the on-field decisions. That is what an umpire is judged on. It looks easy from the comfort of the living room but is deceptively difficult. It is mentally draining - Umpires sleep very well during a four-day game, Wilson says - and certain decisions are incredibly challenging in the split-second an umpire has at his disposal.Lbws are hard when theres bat and pad involved, he says. If everything is close together, thats a seriously tough decision. If its a clear-cut one, fine. When bat and pad are close together and theres two noises, what are the two noises?With the advent of BBL etc, there is also the noise factor. If the players cant hear each other on the field, theres a fair chance that when theres a fine nick it becomes very difficult for umpires to pick things up. Noisy venues are a real challenge for umpires because we use eyes and ears. Sometimes, one of those faculties can be taken away from us purely from it being a noisy venue.DRS is a useful safety net if available and Wilson is a great believer in using the technology, but the system brings its own challenges. And not just for the umpire on the field who has his decisions scrutinised. Sitting in the chair as TV umpire requires a different set of skills to standing on the field.I think most people thought it was the job you went to and just had the pipe and slippers, had your cups of tea, Wilson says. But its a completely different ball game now. Its effectively becoming a specialised role, over time. Your skills are not only to do with going through the processes and protocols, depending on the on-field decision and whether its a straight-out decision or something sent upstairs with a soft signal.But now we also have the advent of live-to-air comms. Then its making sure your communication skills are right - knowing that what youre asking the director for is what the person at home is listening to. You have to make sure that is clear and concise, so that the person at home can see and understand what youre looking for.If we can communicate clearly then its effectively educating the people sitting at home about the process the third umpire is going through. Some of the really good ones around the world are doing that really effectively, and actually educating the person at home watching the game. Youre probably educating the commentators as well, to a degree.Clear communication, forensic analysis, immaculate concentration - these are not traits one might necessarily expect of a big fast bowler nicknamed Blocker. Nevertheless they are traits that he possesses, and have helped him become an international umpire.Perhaps one day he will join Reiffel, Charles Bannerman, George Coulthard, George McShane and Arthur Richardson as Australian Test player-umpires. No doubt that would make him immensely proud, as he is of that one Test back in 1998.In that era, to have played any games for Australia - looking back on it now, at the players around at the time, it was just an absolute honour. NFL Jerseys China . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. http://www.cheapjerseysbasketball.com/ . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. NFL Jerseys Outlet . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. PHOENIX -- Colin Rea is getting plenty of run support from his San Diego Padres teammates, but he hasnt needed much help during his past three starts.Rea (5-3, 4.79 ERA) looks to continue his recent hot streak Wednesday night in the final game of a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.Over his past three starts, Rea has allowed five earned runs on 12 hits over 17 1/3 innings with 18 strikeouts and seven walks.San Diego has scored 60 runs in his 15 starts, and adjusting for his innings pitched, is averaging 6.6 runs per game, the second-highest figure on the team.Reas resurgence coincides with the Padres recent success. Despite a 7-5 loss Tuesday in the middle game of the series, San Diego has eight wins in its past 14 games.On Wednesday, the Padres also will benefit from the likely return of catcher Derek Norris, who sat out Tuesday after being hit on the left elbow by a bat on Monday.Thats the plan right now, Norris said. Ill get treatment during the day, but Ill be all right.Wil Myers, who was named to the National League All-Star team as the Padres lone representative, comes into Wednesday following a career-high-tying four-hit game that included his second career triple.Myers is hitting .353 (18-for-51) in his career at Chase Field with four doubles, two homers and the triple.You see the ball really well here, Myers said.Rea will be facing Diamondbacks right-hander Shelby Miller, whose 2016 has been largely forgettable.Hope that a stint on the 15-daay disabled list might help Miller (2-8, 6.dddddddddddd5 ERA) get his season on track, fueled by 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball against the Philadelphia Phillies in his first start back, has faded.Over his past two starts, Miller has surrendered 12 runs on 20 hits over 12 innings. The lone positive was the right-handers ability to limit walks, as he allowed only four total his past four starts after exceeding that number in four of his other 10 starts.Once considered a playoff contender coming out of spring training, the Diamondbacks now are only one game ahead of the last-place Padres in the NL West.Arizona has struggled especially at home, posting a 15-31 record at Chase Field, better only than the Atlanta Braves 13-34 home mark. The Diamondbacks are looking to complete their first home series win since taking two of three from the Miami Marlins from June 10-12.Since beating Colorado on May 10 to raise their record to 17-18, the Diamondbacks have dropped 29 of their past 50.The overall and home record might have played in part in Tuesdays record-low attendance of 14,110 in the 18-year-old ballpark.It was a Tuesday night, Arizona manager Chip Hale said. We appreciate the people who were here. I thought we played well. The guys didnt let down because it wasnt a big crowd with a lot of emotion. They created their own emotion in the dugout. Thats baseball. Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jersyes Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '