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. 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.

History

The panel was formed in 2002 with eight members. 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. 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. 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.

Current members

The Elite Panel consists of:

List of Elite Panel of ICC Umpires

Umpire	Date of Birth	Age as of 16 April 2024	Year Appointed	Tests	ODIs	T20Is	Country
Richard Illingworth	23 August 1963		2013	19	44	11	England
Bruce Oxenford	5 March 1960		2012	31	72	17	Australia
Aleem Dar	6 June 1968		2004	101	178	41	Pakistan
Ian Gould	19 August 1957		2009	49	109	29	England
Marais Erasmus	27 February 1964		2010	35	62	20	South Africa
Rod Tucker	28 August 1964		2010	40	64	23	Australia
Kumar Dharmasena	24 April 1971		2011	35	68	17	Sri Lanka
Richard Kettleborough	15 March 1973		2011	33	57	17	England
Nigel Llong	11 February 1969		2012	35	98	27	England
Paul Reiffel	19 April 1966		2013	22	41	13	Australia
Sundaram Ravi	22 April 1966		2015	10	25	12	India
Chris Gaffaney	30 November 1975		2015	6	43	15	New Zealand

Former members

The first departures from the panel came in 2004 when Srinivas Venkataraghavan (known as Venkat) retired, and Asoka de Silva, Dave Orchard and Russell Tiffin did not have their contracts renewed. David Shepherd retired in 2005 following 22 years as an international umpire. 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. In March 2008, following a spell officiating associate members, Hair was once again permitted to umpire full members, but in August he handed in his resignation after he was only allowed to officiate in two tests.

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

• Original panel member

List of Former members of Elite Panel of ICC Umpires

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

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

Records

Most Test matches as an umpire:

Umpire	Period	Matches
Steve Bucknor	1989–2009	128
Rudi Koertzen	1992–2010	108
Aleem Dar	2003–2016	101

Most ODI matches as an umpire:

Umpire	Period	Matches
Rudi Koertzen	1992–2010	209
Billy Bowden	1995–2016	198
Steve Bucknor	1989–2009	181

Most T20I matches as an umpire:

Umpire	Period	Matches
Aleem Dar	2009–2014	41
Simon Taufel	2007–2012	34
Ian Gould	2006–2014	29
Nigel Llong	2005–2015	27
Rod Tucker	2009–2014	23
Marais Erasmus	2006–2014	20

See also

• Panel of ICC Referees
• ICC International umpire panel
• List of Test umpires
• ICC Associates and Affiliates Umpire Panel

External links

• ICC match officials