He is usually spotted in a suit,answering queries from journalists around the world on cricket-related matters,hosting showcase awards nights,and putting together press releases for the International Cricket Council. On a regular day at work,James Fitzgerald is a media officer with crickets apex body. On Tuesday,though,Fitzgerald was at the unveiling of the trophy for the Asian-5-Nations rugby event. Dressed in a tee-shirt with an Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union logo embossed on it,Fitzgerald seemed a surprise visitor. But it turned out he is a regular on the rugby circuit as well. I am a qualified rugby referee, Fitzgerald told Sportline. He is a member of the IRB Asian panel of referees. I will be an assistant referee,or what they call a touch judge in all four matches at the Asian-5-Nations here. I have been a referee for six years. Doing this doesnt get me money,rather it is more of a hobby. eer cut-shortFitzgerald had to quit playing rugby in his late 20s after a knee injury relegated him to the sidelines. I played both rugby and cricket at the senior club-level in Dublin before the knee injury, he said. But I continued being connected with rugby by taking up refereeing. To stay in touch with cricket I worked as a correspondent with the newspapers Ireland on Sunday and the Irish Times. I covered crime for the newspapers but I got to write on cricket too. Talking about similarities in cricket and rugby,Fitzgerald said: Like the spirit of cricket there is also a spirit of rugby,in the sense that players tend to respect decisions made by umpires or referees even if they are not 100 per cent accurate at times. Like the third umpire in cricket,rugby has a television match official,who decides whether a try has been scored. Fitzgerald will be back at the ICCs headquarters in Dubai from Monday. I use my annual leave whenever I have to officiate in a rugby game. Referring is not something I want to do full-time though,because cricket is as much a passion as rugby for me.
