Ben Treloar, 44, stepped onto the dusty field at Palam Air Force Ground, the opening day of the Delhi‑Gujarat tie, and players lined up asking where he was from.
He answered with a grin, then learned that this was his first Indian assignment under the Umpire Exchange Program, a partnership that will see him judge two Ranji matches while Indian umpire Parashar Joshi heads to Australia for Sheffield Shield and One‑Day Cup duty.
The clash was almost cinematic – planes sliced overhead every five minutes, a reminder that the arena was a small, air‑traffic‑heavy venue. Yet the spirit on the pitch was fierce, with local fans and staff rallying to make the match memorable.
But the ground wasn’t the only thing that shifted. Delhi’s black‑soil wicket gave way to Mumbai’s red‑soil at BKC, where Treloar will next officiate a Mumbai‑Haryana match. He noted that the first session runs 2½ hours here versus 2 hours in Australia, and the daily overs drop from 96 to 90.
Outside the crease, Treloar’s role as Cricket NSW’s Umpire Education Officer keeps him busy with training the next generation of officials. He’s also a culinary pilgrim, sampling Delhi’s dal, Mumbai’s garlic‑butter naan, and the city’s famed vada pav.
With his eyes on the upcoming BKC game, Treloar is already mapping out the pitch’s nuances and lining up the next flight of planes, ready to keep the game fair and fierce across continents.