HOWZAT! Cricket umpire Graeme Smith has his sights set on the big time after recieving a national honour, writes NICK LOUGHLIN.

Smith last month travelled to Lord's - the home of cricket - to be presented with an award after coming through his umpiring exam in style.

He scored a near perfect mark - 99per cent - in Part One of the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers examination and was awarded the Tom Smith Award.

The honour is handed out to the individual with the best score nationally among budding Dickie Birds who have taken their exams last year.

No-one has ever come near that mark and Smith, a former opener with Blackhall CC in the Darlington Building Society North Yorkshire South Durham League, said: "It was a really enjoyable occasion. We were made to feel very welcome and we were treated really well.

"I was proud to collect the honour. I'm going to be umpiring NYSD games this summer and would like to go as far as I can in the game. I suppose it's a bit like football refereeing - you start at a level and then just see how far you can go.''

And Smith, who toured the West Indies with the Barmy Army in 1998, added: "I want to stay involved in the game. I've been with the club for such a long time. I'd done some umpiring at under-17 level and quite enjoyed it.

"A lot of how high you go in the game depends on ambition as well as ability.''

Smith, a lecturer at the University of Teesside, recently sat Part Two of the exam and came through with 93 per cent. Next up is his oral examination after Easter.

The powerful batsman started playing for Blackhall when he was 11 and broke into the first team five years later. In 1986, the Colliery side went unbeaten in the League, but still missed out on the title, finishing second. Two years ago he dropped out of the first team and now skippers the third XI.

The NYSD League starts later this month - but Smith has declared himself unavailable for the opening games. He admitted: "I want to see Hartlepool United through their promotion season before I can get my head around cricket. I'm too nervous about that to think about anything else at the minute!"