THREE more Jamaicans are now qualified to officiate at the first-class level after passing their West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) umpires exam.

The trio are Milton Thomas, Christopher Taylor and Wilbert Dalberry — all from the Eastern zone of the Jamaican chapter.

The duration of the exam, which had a 66 percentage pass rate, was conducted over two years and included written and oral tests.

But despite the eligibility of the new batch of officials, their entry into the first-class arena will take some time, according to Vivian Johnson, second vice-president of the Jamaica Cricket Umpires Association (JCUA).

According to Johnson, on average, it takes five to 10 years for a new recruit to gain permanence among the established first-class umpires.

“The fact that they have passed this exam doesn’t mean they are automatically handed first-class games,” Johnson said.

“The normal process is to let them umpire matches at the schoolboy level and overtime, we’ll assess them before pushing them further.”

Thomas, a former player at the club level between 1989 and 2005, says it has always been his desire to serve the game in another capacity after retiring

“Being an umpire gives a different perspective from when I was a player. I now have a greater sense of appreciation when decisions are made by an umpire and for the game of cricket to maintain its high standards it will require quality officiating and I’m prepared to uphold those high standards,” Thomas told the Observer.

Thomas’ comments are encouraging as remuneration for their service at schoolboy level currently stands in the range of $3,000 per match.

And Johnson was quick to point out that only persons with a deep passion for the game tend to progress.

While that is the case, Johnson — who is also the secretary of the West Indies Cricket Umpires Association — is hoping a raft of issues now pending with the Board will be addressed sooner rather than later.

These include the determination of fees for regional and international matches; operation of the umpires’ exchange programme; appointment of an umpires’ manager; retirement benefits for regional umpires; retainers for umpires on the International Cricket Council’s elite and international panel; WICB’s policy regarding appointment, exposure, upgrading, regrading and promotion of umpires, and the WICB’s policy direction regarding the appointment of umpires under the age of 35.