These were among the 55 questions (100 marks) the 62 candidates appearing for Delhi state panel umpiring examinations, conducted by the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), here this morning were required to answer. The state-panel umpires exams were being held after a gap of 11 years.

Prior to the examination, most of the candidates attended week-long classes at the Kotla which were conducted by reputed umpires, including Ram Babu Gupta, S K Bansal, Des Raj, Arun Bhardwaj, Vijay Chopra, BSP Rao, Rajen Seth and Devender Sharma.

Most of the candidates appearing in the examination were league players who have been `officiating' in DDCA league and other local tournaments for over five years. Kushal Pal (Haryana Ranji player), Manoj Dutt (Delhi u-19), Zeeshan Mohd (who represented India schools) as well as the twin sons of international umpire S K Bansal were among those who appeared for the exams.

DDCA sports secretary Sunil Dev, who supervised the conduct of the examination, stressed the importance of `physically and mentally fit and knowledgeable' umpires to conduct matches in a smooth and disciplined manner. ``There are plans to conduct similar exams for official scorers,'' he added.

Results of today's exams are expected to be announced in a week's time. ``The pass percentage will not be less than 80,'' a state-panel umpire revealed. The successful candidates will have to officiate in about 25 league matches before they will be given certificates.