Stephen Grant Randell (born 19 February 1956) is a former Australian Test cricket match umpire, the first to come from Tasmania. He was convicted in 1999 of 15 counts of sexual assault against nine schoolgirls of ages 10–12 while teaching at a Catholic primary school between 1981 and 1982.

Steve Randell
Personal information
Full name
Stephen Grant Randell
Born (1956-09-16) 16 September 1956 (age 68)
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Umpiring information
Tests umpired36 (1984–1998)
ODIs umpired88 (1984–1998)
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 11 July 2008

Biography

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Randell was born in Hobart, Tasmania.[1]

He umpired 36 Test matches between 1984 and 1998, the highest number by an Australian umpire to that time (the previous highest was Tony Crafter's 33 matches). His umpiring debut was the Fourth Test between Australia and the West Indies at Melbourne from December 22-27, 1984. Randell's partner was Peter McConnell.[2][3][4][5]

In 1994, the International Cricket Council introduced a policy of appointing one umpire to each Test match from a non-participating country. Ten of Randell's matches were played outside Australia, and did not involve Australia. His last Test match involving Australia was against South Africa at Adelaide on 30 January to 3 February 1998, finishing in a draw, with captain Mark Taylor dominating the first innings with 169 and Mark Waugh scoring a century in the second innings. Randell's colleague was the New Zealander, Doug Cowie.[2][6][7]

Randell's last Test match was between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Harare on 21–25 March 1998. Randell umpired 88 One Day International (ODI) matches between 1984 and 1998. He umpired one women's ODI in 1991. Altogether, he umpired 119 first-class matches in his career between 1980 and 1998.[2][8][9][10]

At the club level, Randell was a left-hand batsman for the South Hobart and Sandy Bay clubs. Off the field he was a school-teacher with the Tasmanian Education Department.

Sexual assault conviction

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His cricket and professional careers ended when he was convicted in August 1999 of 15 separate counts of sexual assault against nine schoolgirls of ages 10–12 while teaching at a Catholic primary school between 1981 and 1982. He was sentenced to four years jail with a two-year minimum, and was released on parole in May 2002.[11][12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Steve Randell". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Steve Randell as Umpire in Test Matches". CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Australia v West Indies in 1984/85". CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Team records - West Indies between 30 Mar 1984 and 22 Dec 1984". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Most matches as an umpire". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  6. ^ Blake, Martin (3 February 1994). "Chappelli: Our umps are the worst". The Sydney Morning Herald. The ACB announced on Tuesday that Darrell Hair, who stood in the Adelaide Test, and Steve Randell had been appointed to the International Cricket Council's umpires' panel. Under the new system, one overseas member of the panel will stand with a local umpire in Test matches.
  7. ^ "Australia v South Africa in 1997/98". Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  8. ^ "Steve Randell as Umpire in ODI Matches". CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  9. ^ "Steve Randell as Umpire in Women's ODI Matches". CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  10. ^ "Steve Randell as Umpire in First-class Matches". CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Umpire Randell found guilty on 15 sex charges". Rediff. 10 August 1999. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  12. ^ Woolford, Don (1 February 2002). "Paedophile umpire could work again". The Age. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
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