Piloo Reporter, the first among neutral umpires in Tests, dies at 84

Piloo Reporter, who was part of the first pair of neutral umpires to stand in international cricket, died in Mumbai on Sunday. Reporter, 84, was suffering from cerebral contusions and was bedridden for a long time. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Reporter officiated in 14 Tests and 22 ODIs, which included the 1992 World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand. He was the only Indian umpire in the tournament and became popular for his vigorous signalling of a boundary, drawing chuckles from players, broadcasters and fans worldwide.

But the bigger moment for Reporter was in November 1986 when he, along with fellow Indian VK Ramaswamy, stood in the Lahore Test between Pakistan and West Indies: it was the first instance of neutral umpires standing in international cricket. The move was ushered in by Pakistan captain Imran Khan to mitigate against the perception of biased home umpiring.

It was a significant first step, as the ICC experimented with one neutral umpire in Test cricket in 1992 before formalising it two years later.

Reporter's maiden Test as umpire was in Delhi in 1984, during England's tour of India. Reporter's umpiring partner in that Test was Dara Dotiwalla.

Reporter was not overwhelmed in confronting big names in cricket, which included the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Viv Richards and Imran. "Umpiring is a job very much like policing traffic. The traffic must move, as also the game," he had told Mid-Day in a chat in 1997.

One of Reporter's ODIs as an umpire was a Hero Cup game between Zimbabwe and South Africa in Bengaluru in 1993. Zimbabwe allrounder Heath Streak, who made his international debut as a 19-year-old in that game, also died on September 3, the same day as Reporter.