Elite Panel of ICC Umpires

The Elite Panel of ICC Umpires is a panel of cricket umpires appointed by the International Cricket Council to officiate in Test matches and One Day Internationals around the world. The panel was first established in April 2002 when the ICC decided to reform the way that international cricket was umpired. The main change was that both umpires in a Test match and one of the umpires in a One-day international are now independent of the competing nations, whereas before 2002 just one of the umpires in a Test was independent and in ODIs both umpires were from the home nation. The majority of these ICC appointments are fulfilled by the members of the Elite Panel, who are generally thought to be the best umpires in the world. As such the ICC hopes to ensure that umpiring standards are as high as possible. Members of the panel stand in around 10 Tests and 15 ODIs each year.[1] The list of umpires in the panel are revised every year by the ICC umpires selection panel and the current panel consists of ICC general manager Geoff Allardice, chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle, former umpires David Lloyd and Srinivas Venkataraghavan.[2]

History

The panel was formed in 2002 with eight members.[3] Peter Willey was invited to be on the panel, but declined the opportunity because it would have required him to spend too much time away from his family.[4] The last members of the original panel were removed in 2011. Members of the International Panel of ICC Umpires stand in ODIs in their home countries, and may be appointed by the ICC to Tests and ODIs as an independent official at busy times in the cricket calendar to supplement the Elite Panel.[1] The best performing umpires may earn promotion to the Elite Panel. Emirates Airlines sponsors the panel, and the umpires are required to wear shirts and coats which have 'Fly Emirates' printed on them whenever they are officiating.[5]

Current members

As of the 2016/17 cricket season the Elite Panel consists of:[6]

List of Elite Panel of ICC Umpires
Umpire Date of Birth Age as of 7 December 2016 Year Appointed Tests ODIs T20Is Country
Richard Illingworth 23 August 1963 53 years, 64 days 2013 19 44 11 England England
Bruce Oxenford 5 March 1960 56 years, 277 days 2012 31 72 17 Australia Australia
Aleem Dar 6 June 1968 48 years, 184 days 2004 101 178 41 Pakistan Pakistan
Ian Gould 19 August 1957 59 years, 110 days 2009 49 114 37 England England
Marais Erasmus 27 February 1964 52 years, 284 days 2010 35 62 26 South Africa South Africa
Rod Tucker 28 August 1964 52 years, 101 days 2010 43 64 35 Australia Australia
Kumar Dharmasena 24 April 1971 45 years, 227 days 2011 35 68 17 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka
Richard Kettleborough 15 March 1973 43 years, 267 days 2011 33 57 17 England England
Nigel Llong 11 February 1969 47 years, 300 days 2012 35 98 27 England England
Paul Reiffel 19 April 1966 50 years, 232 days 2013 22 41 13 Australia Australia
Sundaram Ravi 22 April 1966 50 years, 229 days 2015 10 25 12 India India
Chris Gaffaney 30 November 1975 41 years, 38 days 2015 7 46 20 New Zealand New Zealand

Former members

The first departures from the panel came in 2004 when Srinivas Venkataraghavan (known as Venkat) retired,[7] and Asoka de Silva, Dave Orchard and Russell Tiffin did not have their contracts renewed.[8] David Shepherd retired in 2005 following 22 years as an international umpire.[9] Darrell Hair, who joined the panel in 2003, was banned from officiating in matches involving full ICC members following the Ball tampering controversy in August 2006.[10] In March 2008, following a spell officiating associate members, Hair was once again permitted to umpire full members,[11] but in August he handed in his resignation after he was only allowed to officiate in two tests.[12]

Steve Bucknor retired in 2009, having stood in a record 128 Tests since March 1989.[13] Rudi Koertzen retired in 2010,[14] while Mark Benson, who had joined the panel in 2006, stood down to return to domestic cricket.[15] Asoka de Silva, who rejoined the panel in 2008, was stood down again in 2011 along with Daryl Harper,[16] Simon Taufel and Billy Doctrove retired in 2012[17] and Steve Davis retired in 2015.

Former elite panel members can still umpire in ODIs and international T20s. Statistics correct as of 7 June 2012.

List of Former members of Elite Panel of ICC Umpires
Umpire Date of Birth Joined Panel Left Panel Tests ODIs T20Is Country
Steve Bucknor dagger 31 May 1946 2002 2009 128 181 — West Indies Cricket Board West Indies
Asoka de Silva^ dagger 28 March 1956 2002 2011 49 121 11 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka
Daryl Harper dagger 23 October 1951 2002 2011 94 174 10 Australia Australia
Rudi Koertzen dagger 26 March 1949 2002 2010 108 206 14 South Africa South Africa
Dave Orchard dagger 24 June 1948 2002 2004 44 107 — South Africa South Africa
David Shepherd dagger 27 December 1940 2002 2005 92 172 — England England
Russell Tiffin dagger 4 June 1959 2002 2004 44 126 4 Zimbabwe Zimbabwe
Srinivas Venkataraghavan dagger 21 April 1945 2002 2004 73 52 — India India
Darrell Hair 30 September 1952 2003 2008 78 135 6 Australia Australia
Billy Doctrove 3 July 1955 2006 2012 38 112 17 West Indies Cricket Board West Indies
Mark Benson 6 July 1958 2006 2010 27 72 19 England England
Simon Taufel 21 January 1971 2003 2012 74 174 34 Australia Australia
Tony Hill 26 June 1951 2009 2014 40 96 17 New Zealand New Zealand
Asad Rauf 12 May 1956 2006 2013 47 98 23 Pakistan Pakistan
Brent (Billy) Bowden 11 April 1967 2003 2015 84 195 21 New Zealand New Zealand
Steve Davis April 9, 1952 2008 2015 57 137 26 Australia Australia

^de Silva was absent from the panel between 2004 and 2008.

Records

Most Test matches as an umpire:[18]

UmpirePeriodMatches
Jamaica Steve Bucknor 1989–2009 128
South Africa Rudi Koertzen 1992–2010 108
Pakistan Aleem Dar 2003–2016 101

Most ODI matches as an umpire:[19]

UmpirePeriodMatches
South Africa Rudi Koertzen 1992–2010 209
New Zealand Billy Bowden 1995–2016 198
Jamaica Steve Bucknor 1989–2009 181

Most T20I matches as an umpire:[20]

UmpirePeriodMatches
Pakistan Aleem Dar 2009–2014 41
Australia Simon Taufel 2007–2012 34
England Ian Gould 2006–2014 29
England Nigel Llong 2005–2015 27
Australia Rod Tucker 2009–2014 23
South Africa Marais Erasmus 2006–2014 20

See also

References

External links

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