How does this work?
Is it from this panel of eight that both umpires for each test are chosen from?
If so how can a new umpire get international experience and join the panel.
Anyhow the only foreign umpires I really hsve any confidence in to get it right are Venkat, Shepherd, and Bucknor.
I don't need the ICC to tell me they are the best.
Kane McGoodwin
16 Mar 2002, 12:59
Yes, both test umpires will come from this panel. However, you may have say Willey & Bucknor sitting in a England v West Indies test (rather than 2 non-England/WI umps).
The South African's like the Sri Lankan's are also happy Hair didn't make the panel, but are even more concerned about the Zimbawe umpire (Robinson ?).
GoEagles
16 Mar 2002, 17:49
Harper from Australia got in didn't he? Does that mean that he can officiate test matches held in Australia or does the '2 International Umpires' policy still stand?
Kane McGoodwin
16 Mar 2002, 21:13
Yes, Daryl Harper is the Australian on the ICC Umpiring Panel. Harper can officiate in Australia if the opposition team also has an umpire from their country from the ICC panel. eg. Could have Harper & Shepherd officiating over an Ashes game.
GoEagles
17 Mar 2002, 16:18
Thats a little sad in a way - how only 1 Australian umpire will be able to officiate in test matches here. Like how some cricketers aspire to play for Australia, but umpires can't aspire to umpire in their home nation unless they are the absolute best.
Fat Red
18 Mar 2002, 10:31
What's the complete list?
I reckon Bucknor is no longer as good as he was. Robinson is a dud. Is Rudi Coetzer (sp?) on it. IMO he's a very good umpire.
dogs105
18 Mar 2002, 12:22
I don't think Willey is, they offered him a spot, but he said it was too big a commitment and he needed more time with his family.
Also, quote on Venkat in March Wisden Cricket Monthly:
"Highly respected but possibly on wane"
- not that I've seen, but interesting comment.
I saw the final list somewhere recently, but I can't find it. Sorry.
Kane McGoodwin
18 Mar 2002, 16:47
ICC Elite Panel Umpire Statistics & Biographies
ICC Media Release - 12 March 2002
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Steve Bucknor, West Indies
Date of birth: 31st May 1946, Montego Bay, Jamaica
Tests umpired: 64
ODIs umpired: 83
Steve Bucknor is the West Indies most experienced international umpire, having taken charge of his first Test match during the 1988/89 series in the Caribbean against India. In addition to excelling in cricket, Steve is a former international soccer referee (1985-92) who has officiated in a World Cup match. This makes him the only official to have worked in both the cricket and soccer World Cups.
Asoka De Silva, Sri Lanka
Date of birth: 28th March 1956
Tests umpired: 10
ODIs umpired: 14
A former international cricketer who played 10 Tests and 28 ODIs for Sri Lanka between 1985/86 and 1990/91, Asoka De Silva has emerged over the past two years as an outstanding umpire. He stood in his first Test as recently as 1999/00 and has since been fast tracked with a series of assignments for the ICC.
Daryl Harper, Australia
Date of birth: 23rd October 1951, Adelaide, Australia
Test umpired: 16
ODIs umpired: 48
Daryl Harper made his debut as a first class umpire in 1987/88 and rose to national selection in the 1993/94 season, during the triangular ODI series involving Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The latest of his 16 Test matches was the Australia v South Africa match at Sydney in January 2002.
Rudi Koertzen, South Africa
Date of birth: 26th March 1949, Kynsna, South Africa
Tests umpired: 28
ODIs umpired: 78
Rudi Koertzen has been an international umpire since 1992/93, when he stood in the South Africa v India series.
Dave Orchard, South Africa
Date of birth: 24th June, 1948, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Tests Umpired: 26
ODIs umpired: 77
Dave Orchard played first class cricket with Natal for 11 years from the late 1960s to late 70s. He made his international umpiring debut in the Mandela One Day tournament in 1994/95, followed by a first Test appearance in 1995/96.
David Shepherd, England
Date of birth: 27th December 1940, Devon, England
Test umpired: 60
ODIs umpired: 97
David Shepherd is one of international cricket's most experienced umpires. A former first class cricketer with more than 10,000 runs for English county Gloucestershire, he is now in his 19th season on the international circuit. David was one of the first independent umpires trialled by the ICC in 1992/93 and an original member of the panel that followed in 1994. Highlights of his career including standing in both the 1996 and 1999 World Cup finals.
Russell Tiffin, Zimbabwe
Date of birth: 4th June 1959,Salisbury, Rhodesia
Tests umpired: 24
ODIs umpired: 33
Russell Tiffin became a first class umpire in 1989 and joined the international panel in 1995. Prior to his appointment on the Elite Panel he worked as a business development manager for Castrol in Zimbabwe.
Srinivas Venkataraghavan
Date of birth: 21st April 1945, Madras, India
Tests umpired: 51
ODIs umpired: 33
Venkat is the most experienced former Test cricketer on the new ICC Elite Panel. As an off spinner for India he played 57 Tests in a 19 year career, taking more than 150 wickets as part of India's famous 'spin quartet' of the 1970s. He captained the national team and in all first class cricket claimed 1,390 wickets, including 530 in the Ranji Trophy, an Indian record.
In the early 1990s he was an ICC Match Referee before becoming an international umpire during India's home series against England in 1992/93.
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Commenting on the appointment of the game's leading umpires, ICC Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed said: "The constant, high pressure demands of international cricket means that umpiring at the highest level now has to be a full time profession, rather than a part time job. The eight men chosen to join the Elite Panel are all proven performers at Test level, who command the respect of the captains and players."
Two umpires from the Elite Panel will stand in all future Test matches and there will be one member standing with a home umpire for One Day Internationals.
All Test match captains were asked to make nominations for the Panel on behalf of their teams. These contributions were given serious consideration in making the final choices from the current panel of 20 international umpires.
The other major factor in choosing the Panel were the marks achieved by individual umpires over the past four years. These are the marks awarded by captains at the end of each Test match, which assess the umpire's performance against a range of criteria.
"Umpiring is one of the toughest tasks in international sport and this panel represents the best decision makers in the game. Their skills will help improve the overall standard of umpiring at international level and set an example for the next generation of top class umpires to follow," said Malcolm Speed.
Final selection of the Panel was made jointly by Speed, together with Sunil Gavaskar, Chairman of the ICC's Cricket Committee-Playing.
England's Peter Willey was originally invited to become a member of the panel but after considerable consideration declined the invitation citing family reasons:
"I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to be a member of ICC's Elite Panel said Willey, however, I would be required to be away from my family for a considerable amount of time if I took on the role; with this in mind I have decided that, at this stage of my career, I must put the needs of my family first."
On average, each member of the Panel will stand in 12 Test matches and 15 One Day Internationals, a potential on-field workload of 75 days per year. Umpires have agreed two year, full time contracts with the ICC and will meet together for the first time at the Referees and Umpires Workshop near Cape Town, South Africa from 21st to 24th March.
This intensive induction programme will include seminars covering legal and procedural matters relating to cricket discipline, IT training, the psychology of decision making, a presentation from the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit, medical, fitness and media training.
The first series to be played under the new system of Elite Panel umpires and Match Referees will be the triangular tournament in Sharjah starting on 10th April and involving Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. This will be followed by the West Indies v India Test series in the Caribbean beginning on the 11th April and the Zimbabwe v Australia Test series starting on the 13th April.
GoEagles
19 Mar 2002, 13:20
Wow Bucknor's a man of many talents. Thanks for the little trivia about him umpiring in a World Cup for soccer!
Also is De Silva the brother of the Sri Lankan cricketer Aravinda De Silva (I think I got his name right!)