Full name Stephen Grant Randell Role Cricket Umpire Name Steve Randell | ODIs umpired 88 (1984–1998) Tests umpired 36 (1984–1998) | |
 | ||
Born 16 September 1956 (age 67) ( 1956-09-16 ) Hobart, Tasmania, Australia | ||
Stephen Grant Randell (born 19 February 1956 in Hobart, Tasmania) 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.
Contents
Biography
Randell was born in Hobart, Tasmania.
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 first match was between Australia and the West Indies at Melbourne on 22 December to 27 December 1984, a drawn match with Australia holding on in the final innings, thanks to a determined century by Andrew Hilditch to deny the West Indies a 12th consecutive Test victory. Randell’s partner was Peter McConnell.
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.
Randell’s last Test match was between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Harare on 21 March to 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.
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
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.