International Cricket Umpire!

A huge congratulations from everyone at Midlands Hockey to Gabi Brown...

Gabi is the Midlands Hockey Area Admin, but her main focus is on cricket umpiring, something she has taken to brilliantly and is flying up the pathways! 

Gabi began umpiring informally at Women's Cricket Week in Malvern and caught the umpiring bug early on, over the next few years umpiring sporadically for club cricket whilst still playing and captaining. After an unfortunate injury in 2021 forced a change of mindset Gabi started to focus more seriously on umpiring. 

Her drive and ambition have helped her journey through the umpiring pathways, signing her first professional contract this year. Gabi umpires Nottinghamshire Premier League Men's cricket on a Saturday as she moves up the men's pathway, alongside this Gabi has been umpiring in the Women's Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and will make her Charlotte Edwards Cup debut later this month. She currently has ambitions to stand in the women's hundred competition.

Recently, Gabi was presented with a fantastic opportunity to stand in her first international fixture, umpiring Pakistan v. England Development XI Women at Grace Road in Leicester. This was a brilliant game, serving as a warm up for the teams going into the full international series this month. Gabi held her own and showed she is more than capable at this level and we hope to see her standing in many more international matches in the near future!

Congratulations Gabi and best of luck for your future career!