Eloise Sheridan has always loved the game of cricket and the newly contracted Cricket Australia umpire is hopeful that we’ll see even more women involved in the years to come.
Sheridan was the new addition to Cricket Australia’s 2021-22 Supplementary Umpire Panel on Thursday.
A total of 18 umpires were included across CA’s two panels, Sheridan one of two women along with Claire Polosak.
As part of the supplementary panel, Sheridan could be involved in any of the domestic fixtures around Australia where necessary.
She has also been included again as part of the International Panel of ICC Development Umpires which means she is eligible to umpire women’s international matches.
For Sheridan, it’s just reward for the dedication she has shown to umpiring since starting in South Australia in the 2015-16 season.
A full-time teacher, at first umpiring was a way for Sheridan to stay involved in the game she played for 16 years.
But she quickly realised how much she enjoyed it and it became “more than just a hobby”.
“I played 16 years of grade cricket here in Adelaide and I played some junior state-level stuff as well,” Sheridan told Sporting News.
“As I got a bit older, I decided not to play anymore. My body probably had enough and then teaching took over my life a lot so I didn’t have a lot of time for cricket.
“I wanted to get involved again, but I didn’t want to coach because it was very similar to teaching. So I decided to go into umpiring instead.
“It was a natural fit. I am someone who will sit on the couch and make my decisions before the umpire makes theirs. So I thought why not give that a go.”
Sheridan already making history in Australia
Initially Sheridan “wasn’t that keen” on umpiring after getting a few games under her belt on weekends.
However, South Australia Cricket reached out to her and offered her a place in their umpire development squad and from there she has barely looked back.
It gave her access to coaches to develop her skills and put her in contact with other umpires at the same level to encourage her to persist with umpiring.
Since being on the South Australian state panel, she has umpired Men’s Second XI grade games and has been involved in the WBBL and WNCL.
She became the first woman in 144 years to umpire a men’s first-grade cricket match in South Australia.
Sheridan has also made history on two separate occasions as part of an all-female umpiring combination.
In 2018-19, she combined with Polosak to umpire a WBBL match, the first time the tournament had seen two on-field female umpires.
Congratulations to Umpires Eloise Sheridan and Claire Polosak, who will stand in Sunday’s @WBBL clash in Adelaide, the first time two female on-field umpires have officiated a professional match in Australia #WBBL04 pic.twitter.com/k83mPsrDOm
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 20, 2018
And in February 2019, she partnered with friend Mary Waldron to become the first female on-field umpiring duo to officiate a South Australian men’s first-grade match.
“I guess the advantage with Mary is she is one of my best friends so it was really exciting to get out there with her and do that match,” Sheridan said.
“We had both been doing first grade but we hadn’t done a game together yet. It’s nice to be out there with someone you know really well.
“It was a challenging match so a couple of teams go pretty hard at it but it was pretty nice to go out there and not be seen as any different.
“I think the guys here in South Australia have been great in how they approach us.
“We get a few comments from the male umpires that perhaps the guys are better behaved out there, so there might be a few less swear words.
“But I think the more that they get to know the two of us, I think it’s pretty normal. So that’s a good thing, I don’t think it should change just because we’re out there.”
Why it’s time to ‘break that glass ceiling’ in cricket umpiring
The perception of women umpiring men’s cricket is something that Sheridan is really passionate about changing.
Having been involved in the ICC Development Panel, she has been able to see first hand the incredible female umpires breaking through the glass ceiling around the world.
Claire Polosak is obviously at the top of that list after becoming the first woman to officiate in a Men’s Test match after she was named as fourth umpire for the New Year’s match between Australia and India at the SCG.
But throw in the likes of Sue Redfern, Jacqueline Williams and Kim Cotton and it’s a growing and emerging pool of talented female umpires in what Sheridan feels was traditionally a “male-dominated area”.
“I was really lucky I got a call in 2019 and I was put on the ICC Development Panel, which I definitely wasn’t expecting at that stage of my career,” Sheridan said.
“But it was really nice because I could go to Scotland and do the T20 World Cup qualifiers and that’s where I was able to hang out with the likes of Claire, Sue, Jackie Williams and Kim Cotton from New Zealand as well.
“So the six of us were able to officiate that tournament and seeing some of their achievements and particularly Sue at the moment, it’s amazing. She’s just been able to do a Test match and then fourth umpire for a Men’s ODI as well.
“I think it’s a fantastic time to break that glass ceiling and see more females in male-dominated areas.
“Often we don’t, as a female sportsperson, we don’t notice who our match official is but it’s generally a male. And I don’t know why we don’t see that as odd but we see a female umpiring men’s as odd. So hopefully we can change that perception of who the match officials are.”
Sheridan really hopes that on the back of the success of this core group of female umpires, it will inspire more people to use officiating as a way to stay involved in cricket after they’ve finished playing.
“I think it’s important to encourage not just females but everyone to stay involved in the game,” said Sheridan.
“I think we’ve got some great cricket minds out there that maybe get lost to the game after they retire.
“You don’t have to just be in admin or coaching, there are other roles within cricket that we should be encouraging people to stay involved in.
“For people who don’t play cricket, it’s one way to get involved. Rather than just being a spectator, you can get out there and be on the field as well.”
Why officiating a Women’s Ashes Test would be a ‘career goal’
For Sheridan, it’s remarkable to think how quickly she has gone from pretending to be an umpire on the couch at home to actually walking out on the Adelaide Oval for a WBBL match.
She’s become one of the most popular umpires in South Australia as well, known for her “calm and measured” approach to officiating.
And while she’s reluctant to put her name towards any big career goals, it’s clear Test cricket would be the pinnacle for Sheridan.
“A Women’s Ashes series would be amazing and particularly a women’s Test match,” Sheridan said.
“But I’m also hesitant to put my name against it. There’s a couple of World Cups coming up and the Commonwealth Games as well so there are quite a few female tournaments.
“I also don’t want to pigeonhole myself into just women’s cricket. I’m open to whatever does come up.
“But I think probably my career goal would definitely be a Women’s Test match.”
It’s set to be a historic summer coming up with Australia’s Women involved in two Test matches, firstly against India and then the Ashes Test against England.
Sheridan’s recognition as part of CA’s 2021-2022 Umpiring Panel means she is perfectly placed to fulfil that dream in just a few months’ time.