English umpires face same sanctions as players

Jeff Evans and Trevor Jesty, the two English umpires who are officiating in matches in the unauthorised Indian Cricket League, will need to stop umpiring in the competition by April 1 or risk having their contracts with the ECB terminated. The current ICL tournament ends on April 7.

The recent statement by the ECB, which clarified the situation regarding the ICL, applied to officials as well as players. Evans and Jesty are on the board's full list of officials for the 2008 season and their contracts start with effect from April 1. A third English umpire in the ICL, Ray Julian, is not affected as he retired from the ECB panel six years ago.

At the time he signed with the ICL last November, Evans said: "I've had many sleepless nights about it, but I have consulted my solicitor, the Professional Cricketers' Association solicitor and sought advice from anyone and everyone in the game."

Another junior official, Ismail Dawood, the former Yorkshire and Glamorgan wicketkeeper, will be watching the situation closely as he turned down an approach by the ICL. "I would like to umpire in first-class cricket in England and I didn't want to jeopardise my prospects," he said. "It was a tough decision because the ICL contract was extremely lucrative."