15-year-old becomes Britain's youngest cricket umpire

A British teenager has become the youngest qualified cricket umpire of the country.

Ethan Peel has earned his place in the history books at the age of 15, reports the Daily Star.

Peel has been studying for a BTEC Intermediate certificate in cricket umpiring at Oxford Brookes University as part of an initiative by the International Institute of Cricket Umpiring and Scoring (IICUS) to recruit young officials.

GCSE student Ethan, from Wallingford in Oxfordshire, had already completed modules on the laws of the game and field management, man management and duty of care.

On Saturday he finished the final phase of the qualification when he independently umpired a friendly match between Tiddington and London-based Nomads in Oxfordshire. Tiddington won by four runs, 225 to 221.

Afterwards, Ethan, a Year 11 student at Wallingford School, said: "It's a good job that I've got parents who get me to games and a supportive coach who has really helped. I hope that what I've achieved will lead on to other young lads getting involved in umpiring. I only started out last year after my father told me about the course at Oxford Brookes.”

He now hopes to progress to umpiring professional cricket.

His proud father, John, said: "He did really well. He got some really good feedback afterwards and now it's a case of waiting for the paperwork to be completed."