In a field where middle-age has been the norm, it was a supreme vote of confidence that Simon Taufel was asked to umpire his first Test at 29. The best part of a decade later, he has repaid that faith by being named the ICC's Umpire of the Year every year from 2004 to 2008. His rise has been so rapid that he is one of the most experienced officials on the Elite Panel, despite being by far its youngest member. But that heavy workload has also taken its toll on Taufel, who in 2008 said he wanted to spend more time with his wife and children and was taking his cricket future "year by year". Respected by the players for his consistently accurate decision-making, Taufel has stood in two World Cups but he will not get the chance to officiate in a final unless Australia stumble on the field. A calm and confident official who works hard on his fitness, Taufel has developed while on the international scene. When he first arrived he hunched over as the bowler let fly, lowering his eyeline like umpires of old. That habit disappeared as Taufel's self-assurance increased, although his concentration has not waned.

His early entry into the umpiring ranks came after his playing career stalled due to a back injury. A promising fast bowler, in 1988-89 Taufel took the new ball in a New South Wales schoolboys' representative team captained by Michael Slater with Adam Gilchrist behind the stumps. He played for the North Sydney and Mosman clubs before first officiating in fifth-grade games at 20. Taufel was 27 when he stood in his first ODI, a match where his old team-mate Gilchrist scored a century, and 29 when his Test debut came in the 2000 Boxing Day match. Occasional internationals followed while he worked as the operations manager in a printing firm, and in 2003 he was added to the ICC's Elite Panel, where he and the New Zealander Billy Bowden were viewed as the next generation of umpires. In his time off the field, Taufel serves as the umpiring representative on the ICC's cricket committee.
Brydon Coverdale September 2008