The International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed the 20 match officials who will oversee the League Round of the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023 in India. Among them, there are 16 umpires assigned to officiate in the tournament. This group includes all 12 umpires from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, along with four members from the ICC Emerging Umpire Panel. They are: Chris Brown, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shaid, Rod Tucker, Alex Wharf, Joel Wilson, and Paul Wilson.
Three of the umpires appointed for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 final at Lord’s are part of this experienced group – Dharmasena, Erasmus, and Tucker. The only one missing from that quartet is Aleem Dar, who left the Elite Panel in March of the current year. The Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees is also well-represented at the event, featuring former international cricketers Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Richie Richardson, and Javagal Srinath.
Srinath will officiate the tournament opener between the finalists from the previous edition, England and New Zealand, scheduled for October 5th in Ahmedabad. Menon and Dharmasena will serve as on-field umpires, with Paul Wilson as the TV umpire, and Saikat handling fourth umpire duties. These officials are assigned for the entire League segment of the tournament, while the appointments for the semi-finals and final will be announced at a later date.
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Wasim Khan, ICC General Manager – Cricket, said: “To deliver an event of this magnitude you require high performing individuals at every level. The ICC Elite panel of umpires, referees, and emerging group of umpires involved will bring immense skills, experience and world class standards to this ODI World Cup 2023. We are delighted with the group that we have assembled for this tournament”.
“The ICC Cricket Operations department takes great pride and effort in operating a robust and meritocratic selection procedure with the help of our Member Boards. Our competitive pathway system continues to see the development and emergence of high-quality match officials across the game. We are pleased that four members of the ICC Emerging Umpire Panel have earned the opportunity to be part of this showcase event and we wish them, and all the other match officials involved all the very best for the tournament.”
Sean Easey, ICC Manager – Umpires and Referees said: “We are pleased to announce the match officials who will be overseeing the biggest ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup ever. This group is the best from around the world and will be ready to perform a challenging job, with the eyes of the global cricketing community focussed on the event. We are confident that they will do an excellent job and wish them all the best of luck for what promises to be a World Cup to remember.”
