ICC announces International Panel Umpires and Referees

The ICC today announced details of the umpires and referees nominated by cricket Boards around the world to form the new International Panels of match officials.

The International Panel of umpires will provide officials for all One Day International (ODI) matches and also provide cover for the ICC's Elite panel of eight full time umpires at peak times in the Test match calendar and during major tournaments.

Most ODIs will now be umpired by a combination of one Elite Panel and one International Panel umpire, although provision exists for an ICC Elite Panel member to be appointed by his home Board.

Another initiative has seen, for the first time, the introduction of specialist third umpires. These officials will not perform on-field duties but will be dedicated to the increasingly specialist role of the third, or so-called TV umpire.

"The International Panel will play an important part in the new global structure of match officials. Umpiring in ODIs will give the opportunity for newer officials to gain experience at international level with members of the Elite Panel. It will also begin to prepare a generation of umpires skilled in the specialist demands of the TV umpire's role. Having already identified the best umpires to work for ICC on a full time basis, it is now equally important that the game starts to identify and develop the umpires who can be their eventual successors," commented David Richardson, the ICC's General Manager-Cricket.

Further encouragement to achieve this will be provided by giving International Panel members overseas umpiring assignments. This will allow them to gain experience of local conditions around the world and speed up the learning process in readiness for potential elevation to the Elite Panel.

The International Panel of umpires consists of the following nominations:

With a full time panel of five ICC Match Referees in place the International Referees Panel will be called upon less frequently than its umpiring counterparts. Its main function will be to supplement Ranjan Madugalle, Clive Lloyd, Wasim Raja, Gundappa Viswanath and Mike Procter where fixture congestion creates scheduling difficulties. Nominations received to date include three former Test match cricketers in Chris Broad, Erapali Prasanna and Denis Lindsay.

As the newest Test playing nation, Bangladesh has never before supplied umpires or referees to the international game. Nominations from the Bangladesh Cricket Board for the International Panels are expected in the near future.

Media contact:
Mark Harrison
ICC Communications Manager
Tel: + 44 (0) 207 266 7913
E Mail: mark.harrison@icc-cricket.com