NSWCUSA Life member Darren Goodger has been elected Life Member of the NSW Country Cricket Association (NSWCCA), at their 2024 Annual General Meeting on Sunday September 8, hosted at Cricket Central and online, where delegates voted on Goodger becoming the latest Life Member of the association.
Hailing from South Grafton, Goodger has been an active umpire since 1988, a career which has seen him umpire matches in his local Clarence River Cricket Association competition through to the Sheffield Shield and women’s international level.
Prior to re-locating to Sydney, Goodger spent four years on the Country Umpire Representative Panel between 1998 and 2002.
The 18th member of the panel since it was formed in 1991, he officiated the 1999-00 Country Championship Final between North Coastal and Southern in Coffs Harbour, was selected as the Country Umpire of the Year in 2001, and officiated Australia Country against the touring New Zealand team in 2001-02 in Bowral.
He has currently officiated 319 Men’s First Grade Premier Cricket matches, making him the third most-experienced umpire in the highest grade in the NSWCUSA’s history.
During that time, he has been awarded First Grade Umpire of the Year on 14 occasions, as determined by the captains each season, and received the George Borwick Memorial Award seven times.
Off-field he has made a sterling contribution to cricket across three decades in regional areas and beyond.
He took his first volunteer position in cricket in 1995, becoming Treasurer of the Clarence River Cricket Association as well as Secretary / Treasurer roles for the Clarence River District Cricket Umpires’ Association and the North Coast Cricket Umpires’ Association in the same year, serving in each role until 2002.
He spent four years as the Chair of the North Coastal Cricket Zone, during which time he was the alternate delegate to the NSWCCA, a tenure which included three years doubling as the North Coastal Zone Umpire Representative.
Since 2000 he has volunteered considerable time as an umpire educator, travelling in excess of 15,000km most years to facilitate programs and attend workshops which genuinely benefit the regional cricketing communities.
Between 2006 and 2011, he was engaged by Cricket Australia Global Development to facilitate umpire training and development workshops for umpires, coaches and match referees overseas throughout Bangladesh, China, India, Malaysia, Nepal, and Thailand.
He has previously been awarded Life membership of the Clarence River District Cricket Umpires’ Association, the Far North Coast Cricket Umpires’ Association, and this association.