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 is sponsored by Emirates Airlines, and when officiating the umpires wear shirts with "Fly Emirates" printed on the front and back.

Contents

Current members

Forthcoming appointments

Expectations

Benefits of the panel

Criticisms of the panel

Changes

See also

External links

Current members

{| border="0" width="100%"
|-
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" valign="top" width="90%"|
{| border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" width="80%"
|- bgcolor=#D0E8FF
!width=5%|Umpire
!width=5%|Date of Birth
!width=5%|Tests Stood In
!width=5%|ODIs Stood In
!width=5%|Country
|-
| align=center| Aleem Dar || align=center| 6 June 1968 || align=center| 39 || align=center| 97 || align=left| Pakistan
|-
| align=center| Asad Rauf || align=center| 12 May 1956 || align=center| 13 || align=center| 45 || align=left| Pakistan
|-
| align=center| Mark Benson || align=center| 6 July 1958 || align=center| 15 || align=center| 55 || align=left| England
|-
| align=center| Billy Bowden || align=center| 11 April 1963 || align=center| 41 || align=center| 117 || align=left| New Zealand
|-
| align=center| Steve Bucknor || align=center| 31 May 1946 ||align=center| 119 || align=center| 163 || align=left| West Indies
|-
| align=center| Billy Doctrove || align=center| 3 July 1955 || align=center| 13 || align=center| 71 || align=left| West Indies
|-
| align=center| Darrell Hair || align=center| 30 September 1952 || align=center| 76 || align=center| 135 || align=left| Australia
|-
| align=center| Daryl Harper || align=center| 23 October 1951 || align=center| 65 || align=center| 141 || align=left| Australia
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| align=center| Rudi Koertzen || align=center| 26 March 1949 || align=center| 84 || align=center| 177 || align=left| South Africa
|-
| align=center| Simon Taufel || align=center| 21 January 1971 || align=center| 43 || align=center| 116 || align=left| Australia
|}

★ Darrell Hair has been banned from officiating in matches involving ICC Full Member nations.

Forthcoming appointments

'''Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa''' - September 2007
Please refer to 2007 Twenty20 World Championship officials

Expectations

The Panel is generally thought to contain the best umpires in the world, and mistakes from the umpires on it are usually rare. The Panel was created after it was decided that neutral umpires would be used in Test matches, rather than umpires from the host nation, which was the system before. The incredible demands on the Panel has meant that some umpires have decided against joining, such as Peter Willey and Neil Mallender of England.

Benefits of the panel

Due to the small size of the Panel, it is thought that relationships will be closer between fellow umpires and higher consistency and therefore standard of umpiring will increase.
The fact that umpires are independent of the countries involved reduces accusations and suspicion of bias.

Criticisms of the panel

Umpires can spend up to 9 months per year away from home, which can be bad for morale and for performances.
Umpires from home countries not being allowed to stand in Tests means that umpires can have little to aspire to if they are not on the Panel.
Umpires on the Panel can be unaware of the playing styles and the tactics of the teams they umpire, unlike home umpires. On the other hand they see the leading international players on a regular basis.

Changes

The Panel was increased from seven to ten members in April 2006, after criticism that the workload of the members was too heavy. Former members of the panel include David Shepherd (England) and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan (India), who retired, and Asoka de Silva (Sri Lanka), Dave Orchard (South Africa) and Russell Tiffin (Zimbabwe), who were removed due to substandard performance.
On November 5 2006 Australian umpire Darrel Hair's position as an Elite Umpire was discused during a ICC board meeting was held regarding his actions in a Test match between Pakistan and England in August 2006. Hair is still a member of the ICC's Elite Umpires, but it is very unlikely that he will umpire a test match again before his contract runs out in 2008, and it its widely expected his contract will not be renewed.

See also

★ Panel of ICC Referees

★ ICC International umpire panel

External links

★ ICC umpires and referees