'It means a lot': Mother-daughter umpiring duo tick off another significant milestone

Houston and Andrews, who are both based in Newcastle and have been umpiring for 15 and five years respectively, officiated Saturday's fourth-grade match between Northern District and Blacktown at Asquith Oval. 

The achievement comes three years after they became the first mother-daughter duo to umpire a women's NSW Premier Cricket match together.  

"It means a lot that they put us together to umpire," Andrews said. 

"People in (the NSW Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association) know that she's my mum, but it's amazing that we got the chance to actually umpire together.  

"It's been really fun out there." 

Twenty-four hours later, Houston ticked off another personal milestone, officiating her 100th women's NSW Premier Cricket match on Sunday, a Brewers Cup game between Northern Districts and Parramatta. 

Although Houston has become a valued member of the NSW cricket community, it was initially challenging for her to gain respect in men's competitions. For a while, she was the only woman umpiring first-grade matches in the Central Coast. 

"Attitudes of players have changed towards female officiating, I have to say," Houston recalled. 

"It was pretty tough when I first started. But they're more used to it now, the blokes. 

"There's a lot of women doing NSW Premier Cricket now, so I think they're just getting used to it and realising that we can do it. We do know cricket." 

Andrews, who also plays cricket for multiple clubs, a few years ago completed an umpiring course alongside her sister in Scone, run by Laurie Borg and Darren Goodger, and has dedicated Saturdays to her "side hustle" ever since. 

Courtesy of trailblazers such as Claire Polosak, there are growing opportunities for women and girls to get involved in cricket, whether that be through officiating, administration or volunteering. 

"The last couple of years, Claire's run a female umpire workshop; we went to one just before the season started," Andrews said. 

"Claire actually popped into my first fourth grade game last week. She rocked up and gave me some feedback. That was pretty cool, Claire just popping in because she was nearby and wanted to see me umpire. I thought that was amazing." 

Houston agreed: "There's a lot more opportunities for females, and they're really pushing it. I know the Central Coast have picked up a couple (of female umpires) over the last couple of years. 

"New women are coming in, they're trying to expand the range." 

Houston has also been tasked with officiating her daughter's matches on multiple occasions, forcing her to make a few tough decisions. 

"I have given her out," she laughed. 

"But we haven't come to blows over it."