Lauren Agenbag, the youngest umpire to stand in a Cricket World Cup final, is relishing the fruits of her hard labour as she aspires to build on her recent success in New Zealand.
The first South African women’s umpire to stand in a Woman’s T20 international cricket match made headlines globally when she was selected to call the #CWC22 final between Australia and England in the first week of April.
Speaking to gsport Founder, Kass Naidoo, in a #gsportLive interview on Monday, 25 April, Agenbag says being exposed to international cricket has been vital for her rising career.
“I don’t think three years back I thought I’d be sitting here today, saying that I’ve just umpired at a World Cup final. Yes, it’s really hard to believe… sometimes, yeah. But what a good experience for me.”
Seven years ago, Agenbag decided to get into umpiring and says at the time it was just for the fun of it: “To be honest, when I started umpiring, I sort of…The thought was just to see whether I enjoy it. Uhm, it was something that I thought, “Let’s try it out.” Basically, not having much in mind. Uhm, and I never really thought that I would enjoy it as much as I did.”
Since her debut at Newlands, Agenbag has been putting in the hard yards as she learns from officials around the globe.
“Yeah, locally like I’ve previously mentioned that the support system that I’ve had around me was just phenomenal. And coming through the ranks of umpiring blocks like I mentioned earlier, you know the guys at the local cricket association going to the tournaments, the umpires, managers we had there, um, you know, they do a really good job in picking up areas where you can improve on, making you aware of those areas and how you can improve.
“So that really helps a lot – having a support base like that around you and knowing that you’ve got people you can always go back to if you’re struggling with something, or which maybe need some advice on something,” she added.
Agenbag continued to chat about dealing with pressure on the international stage and shares advice to young kids in South Africa who dream of becoming international umpires one day.
Photo 1 Caption: Lauren Agenbag, the youngest umpire to stand in a Cricket World Cup final, is relishing the fruits of her hard labour as she aspires to build on her recent success in New Zealand. Photo: Cricket South Africa (Twitter)
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