The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 season-opening between England and New Zealand is scheduled to take place on October 5 in Ahmedabad. The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed on Monday that umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Nitin Menon will handle the on-field responsibilities. Scroll down to read more details about Dharmasena And Nitin To Be Umpires In the World Cup 2023 Opener.
Umpires In World Cup 2023 Opener
The on-field officials for England vs. New Zealand’s opening game of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will be Kumar Dharmasena and Nitin Menon. The memorable final from four years ago will be re-enacted in the group stage encounter between Dharmasena and Menon, along with TV umpire Paul Wilson, fourth umpire Shahid Saikat, and match referee Javagal Srinath.
Menon will be taking the field in his first ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup game, while Dharmasena created history in 2015 by being the first individual to play and officiate in an ICC Men’s 50-over Cricket World Cup final. Shahid will be the competition’s first umpire from Bangladesh.
They are all members of the group of 20 officials named by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to oversee World Cup matches. This group consists of 16 match officials and 4 match referees, including 12 officials from the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Umpires.
Six of those 16 umpires are taking the stage for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for the first time, while three return after officiating in previous finals.
Only Shahid and Alex Wharf are among the 14 returning umpires from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 who did not officiate in Australia.
Marais Erasmus and Richard Kettleborough, who previously served as the tournament directors for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup finals in 2019 and 2015, return with Dharmasena.
The guys in the middle for both the Lord’s final in 2019 and the ICC guys’s T20 World Cup final in 2022 were Erasmus and Dharmasena.
The third of the four officials for the 2019 championship match, Rod Tucker, who served as the third umpire in the final four years ago, was also chosen.
In addition, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Paul Reiffel, Richard Illingworth, and Joel Wilson are returning from prior competitions.
Shahid, Ahsan Raza, Adrian Holdstock, Wharf, and Chris Brown are the other umpires making their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup debuts, joining Menon, who is from the host nation of India and is the youngest umpire in the competition at 39.
Former international athletes Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Richie Richardson, and Javagal Srinath are the four-match referees.
Match Officials for ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023:
Umpires: Chris Brown (New Zealand), Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka), Marais Erasmus (South Africa), Christopher Gaffaney (New Zealand), Michael Gough (England), Adrian Holdstock (South Africa), Richard Illingworth (England), Richard Kettleborough (England), Nitin Menon (India), Ahsan Raza (Pakistan), Paul Reiffel (Australia), Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid (Bangladesh), Rodney Tucker (Australia), Alex Wharf (England), Joel Wilson (West Indies) and Paul Wilson (Australia).
Match Referees: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand), Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe), Richie Richardson (West Indies) and Javagal Srinath (India).
Also read, Here’s What Happened In BCCI AGM
