ICC announces Emirates match appointments for forthcoming Tests and ODIs

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the Emirates Elite Panel and Emirates International Panel appointments for the Australia - South Africa Test series, the Pakistan - India Test and ODI series as well as the ODI series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka and the tri-series involving Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Chris Broad will referee the three-match Australia - South Africa Test series with the matches scheduled to take place in Perth (starting 16 December), Melbourne (26 December) and Sydney (2 January).

Steve Bucknor from the Emirates Elite Panel will stand in the first two matches, the second of which will be his fourth Boxing Day Test and his second involving the two sides. His previous Australia - South Africa Test in Melbourne was in 1997.

Bucknor will be joined by two members of the Emirates International Panel with Billy Doctrove standing alongside him in Perth while Asad Rauf will officiate in Melbourne. It will be the first Test action in Australia for both men.

The final Test of the series, in Sydney, will be umpired by Aleem Dar and Billy Bowden, both members of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires.

The Match Referee for the Pakistan - India series will be Ranjan Madugalle. The former Sri Lanka batsman was also in charge of the previous series between the two sides in Pakistan, in 2004.

The umpires for the series all come from the Emirates Elite Panel and all have previous Test experience in Pakistan. Rudi Koertzen will stand in the first two Tests, in Lahore (starting 5 January) and Faisalabad (14 January) and he will be joined by Daryl Harper for the first match and Darrell Hair for the second.

Hair will also stand in the final match of the series, in Karachi (22 January), where he will be joined by the Simon Taufel, voted Umpire of the Year for the second year in a row at the ICC Awards in Sydney in October.

Broad will take over from Madugalle as Match Referee for the five-match Pakistan - India ODI series that follows the Test matches, with Taufel standing in all five matches (29 January - 11 February), joined by locally-appointed umpires from the Emirates International Panel .

The Match Referee for the four-match ODI series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka (31 December - 8 January) will be Alan Hurst. Darrell Hair will stand as umpire in all four matches and he will be accompanied by locally-appointed umpires from the Emirates International Panel.

Jeff Crowe will referee the ODI tri-series involving Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa in Australia (13 January - 14 February). He will be joined by Aleem Dar from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and Mark Benson from the Emirates International Panel. That duo will stand in alternate matches alongside locally-appointed umpires from the Emirates International Panel.

For full details of the umpires and referees for these series, as well as other appointments in November and December 2005, please visit the umpires and referees section of the ICC website.