Peter McConnell was an Australian cricket umpire who was born on November 11, 1944 in Perth, Western Australia.
Umpiring Career
Peter McConnell started his umpiring career at a time when there was no provision of neutral umpires. He first umpired more than 70 first class matches for Australia before moving on to international cricket.
Peter McConnell stood in his first international match on November 11 at Perth, in a Pakistan and Australia test match. The match ended in 4 days with Australia being victorious.
Peter McConnell had his last international standing in 1992, in a test against India at Adelaide. The match was won by Australia and this marked the end of his international career as an umpire.
Stats
Peter McConnell has stood in 22 Test matches as an on field umpire. TV umpiring started just after his retirement from the game.
Controversies
According to various players, commentators and also Peter McConnell's colleagues, he was too unprofessional and foul mouthed person on the field. This brought him into various controversial situations at times.
The former English cricketer, Phil Tufnell was told to count the balls himself, when he inquired about the same from McConnell in 1991. The English captain had even bashed him on field for using derogatory terms for his teammates. This resulted in some deliberate decisions in that match from McConnell.
Another incident has been shared by the umpire Darrell Hair, who started his career in the last match of McConnell. He describes how McConnell favoured the Australian team during LBWs and gave 8 wrong decisions which was instrumental in the Australian victory in that match.
Retirement
Peter McConnell retired from international cricket in 1992. However he remained a first class umpire for Australia for several years. He took a formal retirement from cricket only in the year 2000. Thereafter, he also served as the Chief Executive of Mount Magnet Shire Club until 2006.
