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Yorkshire Tea Community Cricket Award winner Sophie McCoy is chatting to me on Zoom with her dad, Pete.
When judging this year’s awards, we were struck by the story behind how her umpiring began and the rapid progress Sophie has made since.
At a time when the game needs more umpires for women and girls’ cricket, this is the tale of a curious teen diving into the world of officiating.
From All Stars to Test cricket batting
But first, Sophie started as a player through All Stars – the ECB’s national programme for five to eight year olds to introduce children to cricket – at Bradfield Village Fellowship Cricket Club.
She has turned out for the South Yorkshire village ever since in junior sides alongside Yorkshire age group squads. That has evolved into representing their women’s softball team, the Bradfield Bernadettes, this summer.
A hard ball excursion for Green Moor U15 Girls also followed as opportunities to hoover up matches took the McCoys, like many juniors and parents, further afield.
I wonder who the enterprising wicketkeeper-batter styles herself on? To my surprise, it’s more Jack Russell than Jos Buttler or Beth Mooney.
Sophie said: “I’ve been told that I play like I play a Test, so I score the runs but very slowly!”
Alongside her, Pete chimes in with: “Someone’s got to hang around and hold an innings together.”
McCoy senior has coached at Bradfield for years and was part of the drive to set up a joint girls hardball team called the ‘BOTS’ who are named after founding clubs, Bradfield, Oughtibridge, Thorncliffe and Stocksbridge (since expanded).
“Oh, why did that happen?”
A natural curiosity about the laws of the game led to a moment in a match that would channel Sophie into wearing the umpire’s coat.
Richard Jones, the County Education Officer for the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation’s Association of Cricket Officials (ACO), picks up the story:
“Sophie trained last year as an umpire at the age of 13. This all came about from 2025 when I was umpiring an U13 girls game. We’d had a head strike on the batter, and I’d called “dead ball” to get a concussion check. This young fielder (Sophie) came up to me and asked why and I explained.”
She also asked about a separate incident that had happened several deliveries before when “dead ball” had also been called (this time for the ball lodged in a batter’s pads). Richard got talking afterwards to Pete who confirmed how keen Sophie was to begin umpiring.
Training and standing in the middle
She travelled to Nottingham to do the ECB Umpires Training Course, and then completed the Yorkshire ACO courses too. In 2026, there have been umpiring appointments to County Age Group matches (U11s and uU13s) then a three-day Ampleforth festival.
Richard said: “I find her highly professional, the young players all love her to bits, and the Captain of Yorkshire U13s told me that she is an inspiration to other young girls. She is quick to take instruction - but she makes her own mind up about the advice she is given.”
“A highly competent young umpire who, I think, we shall see fly in later years.”
This season’s umpiring duties have included a schools final at Scarborough’s North Marine Road ground while an opportunity to shadow the fourth umpire for a Sunrisers Leeds match at Headingley also came about.
(Speaking of Headingley, here is Sophie firing up the roller as part of the Yorkshire CCC young volunteers course back in 2025.)
What’s next?
Plans are afoot for Sophie to get her ‘W3’ qualification in the umpires’ pathway that would allow her to officiate in county hardball Premier Leagues.
That requires an exam around the laws of the game (the MCC announced 73 changes that came into force on 1 October) and two observations.
There may well be a need for investment in a white umpire’s coat for 2027 as she currently only has a coloured one for girls and junior cricket.
What inspired her to umpire in the first place?
Sophie sounds wise beyond her years: “I guess it’s kind of like giving back to the game I first loved, and I just enjoy it, to be honest.”
Congratulations to Sophie and the other Winners and Highly Commended entries from this year’s Yorkshire Tea Community Cricket Awards. Look out for more interviews here on Cricket Yorkshire.
A shoutout to Yorkshire Tea for their support for these community awards with Yorkshire Gold tea and trophies being sent out as prizes.
This is Partner Content for Yorkshire Tea – if the mood takes you, click to read Cricket Yorkshire’s policy on Partner Content.
