Mega gallery: ex-Big Bash spinner trades coaching gig to umpire the next gen

This former Big Bash spinner may not have had umpiring on his bingo card when he moved to Canberra to take charge of the ACT Meteors - but in the blink of an eye, Clive Rose found himself in a sea of smiling faces.

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The Meteors coach traded pre-season planning for a day behind the stumps when he assumed the position of an umpire during Canberra's biggest junior cricket tournament.

The UC Cup brought together hundreds of young cricketers from as far as Wagga Wagga and Sydney's north shore, filling grounds across Canberra for the three-day carnival.

The tournament - formerly known as the Kookaburra Cup - has grown drastically over the past two decades, and Rose was relishing the chance to be involved in a competition which counts Nic Maddinson, who has just earned a shock Test recall, and Adam Zampa among its alumni.

"It's really good. I think it was a really cool competition," Rose said.

"It's the first time I've experienced that, and I got a chance to umpire a couple of games. It was actually really cool to see so many kids get together and play, and also, it's nice for the kids to play some cricket on synthetic at this time of year going into a season on them.

"It was really cool to see, and a nice concept as well - smaller teams, smaller grounds - it actually made for some good Twenty20 cricket and some high scores.

"As those kids get older, it'll match up with the scores that are happening in Twenty20 cricket, so a really good concept."

Maddinson - who last played a Test on Boxing Day in 2016, and has since overcome a battle with testicular cancer to revive his career - is within touching distance of a remarkable return to the Test team, after Cameron Green's abdominal strain left him in doubt for the series opener against South Africa.

Selectors confirmed on Thursday night that Maddinson had been called into the Test squad, after not featuring in Australia's red-ball side for almost 10 years.

Sam Harper has also been drafted in as a backup wicketkeeper, with a finger fracture now officially ruling Josh Inglis out of the first Test in Durban starting next Friday.

The Meteors open their Twenty20 Spring Challenge against the Hobart Hurricanes on October 12, with their 50-over WNCL campaign to begin against NSW on December 15.

Rose made a name for himself on the domestic scene as a left-arm orthodox spinner with stints at Victoria, Tasmania, the Melbourne Stars and Hobart Hurricanes before moving into coaching.

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