The Elite Panel of ICC Umpires is a panel of cricket umpire

Umpire (cricket)

In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...

s appointed by the International Cricket Council

International Cricket Council

The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...

 to officiate in Test matches

Test cricket

Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...

 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 Test match

Test cricket

Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...

 and one of the umpires in 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.

History

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

Peter Willey

Peter Willey is a former English cricketer, who played as a right-handed batsman and right-arm offbreak bowler. In and out of the England team, he interrupted his international career for three years by taking part in the first of the England players' South African rebel tours in 1982...

 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 as of the 28 May 2011 consists of:

Umpire	Date of Birth	Age as of	Year Appointed	Tests	ODIs	T20Is	Country
Billy Bowden Billy Bowden Brent Fraser "Billy" Bowden is an international cricket umpire from New Zealand. He was a player until he began to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and took up umpiring...	11 April 1963		2003	67	155	19	New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Simon Taufel Simon Taufel Simon James Arthur Taufel, , is an Australian cricket umpire who is a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel...	21 January 1971		2003	67	167	22	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Aleem Dar Aleem Dar Aleem Sarwar Dar is a retired Pakistani first-class cricketer and a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel. He won three consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards 2009, 2010 and 2011, after being nominated twice in 2005 and 2006. Aleem Dar and Simon Taufel are the only umpires to have received the...	6 June 1968		2004	64	146	18	Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
Billy Doctrove Billy Doctrove Billy Raymond Doctrove is a former international football referee, but is best known as an international cricket umpire.- Career as a FIFA referee :...	3 July 1955		2006	32	106	17	West Indies (Dominica Dominica Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth... )
Asad Rauf Asad Rauf Asad Rauf, in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, was a first class cricketer and is now a member of the Emirates ICC Elite Umpire Panel.- Playing Days :His career as a first-class cricket player lasted from 1977/78 to 1991/92...	12 May 1956		2006	34	88	17	Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
Steve Davis Steve Davis (umpire) Stephen James Davis, , is a current Australian Test cricket match umpire, from South Australia. He was appointed to the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires in April 2008.-Umpiring career:...	9 April 1952		2008	31	104	14	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Ian Gould Ian Gould Ian James Gould is an ICC Elite Panel cricket umpire and a former English cricketer. He is also chairman of English football club Burnham FC.-Player:...	19 August 1957		2009	18	56	15	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Tony Hill Tony Hill (umpire) Anthony Lloyd Hill , commonly known as Tony Hill, is an international cricket umpire from New Zealand. He is currently a member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires....	26 June 1951		2009	23	84	16	New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Marais Erasmus Marais Erasmus Marais Erasmus, , is a current South African cricket umpire from Cape Province and member of the ICC Elite Umpire Panel....	27 February 1964		2010	5	32	12	South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
Rod Tucker Rod Tucker Rodney James Tucker is a cricket umpire and member of the ICC Elite Umpire Panel. He was a cricketer who played briefly for New South Wales from 1985/86 to 1987/88, before moving to Tasmania who he played for from 1987/88 to 1998/99. He was also vice-captain of Tasmania from 1991/92 until 1995/96...	28 August 1964		2010	8	24	8	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Kumar Dharmasena Kumar Dharmasena Kumar Dharmasena is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and current Umpire. He was a member of World Cup Winning Cricket Team 1996 for Sri Lanka. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler...	24 April 1971		2011	2	25	3	Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
Richard Kettleborough Richard Kettleborough Richard Allan Kettleborough is an English international cricket umpire, and former first-class cricketer who appeared in 33 first-class matches for Yorkshire and Middlesex...	15 March 1973		2011	2	16	2	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

Former members

The first changes to the panel came in 2004 when Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan

Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan

Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan ; is a former Indian cricketer. He played for Derbyshire in English county cricket from 1973 to 1975. He played Test cricket for the Indian cricket team, and later became an umpire on the elite International Cricket Council Test panel...

 (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

Darrell Hair

Darrell Bruce Hair is an Australian former Test match cricket umpire, from New South Wales. He stood on the Emirates International panel of umpires from 2002 to 2003, before he, along with fellow Australian Simon Taufel, and New Zealander Billy Bowden, was appointed to the ICC Elite umpire panel...

, who joined the panel in 2003, was banned from officiating in matches involving full ICC members following the Ball Tampering Controversy in August 2006

Ball tampering

In the sport of cricket, ball tampering is an action in which a fielder illegally alters the condition of the ball. Under Law 42, subsection 3 of the Laws of Cricket, the ball may be polished without the use of an artificial substance, may be dried with a towel if it is wet, and have mud removed...

. 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.
Original panel member

Umpire	Date of Birth	Joined Panel	Left Panel	Tests	ODIs	T20Is	Country
Steve Bucknor Steve Bucknor The Honourable Stephen Anthony Bucknor OJ, also known as Steve Bucknor, is a former international cricket umpire. He was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 31 May 1946. He became a high school mathematics teacher and sports coach, before becoming an international football referee and a cricket umpire...	31 May 1946	2002	2009	128	121		West Indies (Jamaica Jamaica Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic... )
Asoka de Silva^	28 March 1956	2002	2011	45	100	9	Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
Daryl Harper Daryl Harper Daryl John Harper, is an Australian cricket umpire, who was a Test umpire between 1998 and 2011. He was a member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires from 2002 until 2011 when the ICC announced that Harper was being stood down at the termination of his contract in July 2011...	23 October 1951	2002	2011	94	174	10	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Rudi Koertzen Rudi Koertzen Rudolf Eric Koertzen otherwise known as Rudi Koertzen is a former international cricket umpire. His name is pronounced in English....	26 March 1949	2002	2010	108	206	14	South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
Dave Orchard Dave Orchard David Lynton Orchard is South African former first-class cricketer, and former international umpire who stood in 44 Tests and 107 ODI.Orchard was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa...	24 June 1948	2002	2004	44	107		South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
David Shepherd David Shepherd (umpire) David Robert Shepherd MBE was one of the cricket world's best-known umpires. He stood in 92 Test matches, the last of them in June 2005, and officiated in three World Cup finals.- Playing career :...	27 December 1940	2002	2005	92	172		England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Russell Tiffin Russell Tiffin Russell Blair Tiffin is a current international cricket umpire, and a former Test cricket umpire. He has been a member of the ICC International umpire panel since 1995. He became a member of the ICC Elite Panel in April 2001, but was demoted in February 2004 along with Asoka de Silva and Dave...	4 June 1959	2002	2004	44	111		Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan ; is a former Indian cricketer. He played for Derbyshire in English county cricket from 1973 to 1975. He played Test cricket for the Indian cricket team, and later became an umpire on the elite International Cricket Council Test panel...	21 April 1945	2002	2004	73	52		India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
Darell Hair	30 September 1952	2003	2008	78	135		Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Mark Benson Mark Benson Mark Richard Benson is a former International cricketer and a retired ICC Elite Panel cricket umpire - he played for England in one Test match and one One Day International in 1986....	6 July 1958	2006	2010	27	72	19	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

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

Records

Most Test matches as an umpire as of 28 May 2011:

Umpire	Period	Matches
Steve Bucknor Steve Bucknor The Honourable Stephen Anthony Bucknor OJ, also known as Steve Bucknor, is a former international cricket umpire. He was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 31 May 1946. He became a high school mathematics teacher and sports coach, before becoming an international football referee and a cricket umpire...	1989-2009	128
Rudi Koertzen Rudi Koertzen Rudolf Eric Koertzen otherwise known as Rudi Koertzen is a former international cricket umpire. His name is pronounced in English....	1992-2010	108
Daryl Harper Daryl Harper Daryl John Harper, is an Australian cricket umpire, who was a Test umpire between 1998 and 2011. He was a member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires from 2002 until 2011 when the ICC announced that Harper was being stood down at the termination of his contract in July 2011...	1998-2011	94
David Shepherd David Shepherd (umpire) David Robert Shepherd MBE was one of the cricket world's best-known umpires. He stood in 92 Test matches, the last of them in June 2005, and officiated in three World Cup finals.- Playing career :...	1985-2005	92
Darrell Hair Darrell Hair Darrell Bruce Hair is an Australian former Test match cricket umpire, from New South Wales. He stood on the Emirates International panel of umpires from 2002 to 2003, before he, along with fellow Australian Simon Taufel, and New Zealander Billy Bowden, was appointed to the ICC Elite umpire panel...	1992-2008	78

Most ODI matches as an umpire as of 28 May 2011:

Umpire	Period	Matches
Rudi Koertzen Rudi Koertzen Rudolf Eric Koertzen otherwise known as Rudi Koertzen is a former international cricket umpire. His name is pronounced in English....	1992-2010	209
Steve Bucknor Steve Bucknor The Honourable Stephen Anthony Bucknor OJ, also known as Steve Bucknor, is a former international cricket umpire. He was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 31 May 1946. He became a high school mathematics teacher and sports coach, before becoming an international football referee and a cricket umpire...	1989-2009	181
Daryl Harper Daryl Harper Daryl John Harper, is an Australian cricket umpire, who was a Test umpire between 1998 and 2011. He was a member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires from 2002 until 2011 when the ICC announced that Harper was being stood down at the termination of his contract in July 2011...	1994-2011	174
David Shepherd David Shepherd (umpire) David Robert Shepherd MBE was one of the cricket world's best-known umpires. He stood in 92 Test matches, the last of them in June 2005, and officiated in three World Cup finals.- Playing career :...	1983-2005	172
Simon Taufel Simon Taufel Simon James Arthur Taufel, , is an Australian cricket umpire who is a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel...	1999-present	167

Most T20I matches as an umpire as of 28 May 2011:

Umpire	Period	Matches
Simon Taufel Simon Taufel Simon James Arthur Taufel, , is an Australian cricket umpire who is a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel...	2007-present	22
Mark Benson Mark Benson Mark Richard Benson is a former International cricketer and a retired ICC Elite Panel cricket umpire - he played for England in one Test match and one One Day International in 1986....	2007-2009	19
Billy Bowden Billy Bowden Brent Fraser "Billy" Bowden is an international cricket umpire from New Zealand. He was a player until he began to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and took up umpiring...	2005-present	19
Aleem Dar Aleem Dar Aleem Sarwar Dar is a retired Pakistani first-class cricketer and a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel. He won three consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards 2009, 2010 and 2011, after being nominated twice in 2005 and 2006. Aleem Dar and Simon Taufel are the only umpires to have received the...	2009-present	18
Billy Doctrove Billy Doctrove Billy Raymond Doctrove is a former international football referee, but is best known as an international cricket umpire.- Career as a FIFA referee :...	2007-present	17
Asad Rauf Asad Rauf Asad Rauf, in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, was a first class cricketer and is now a member of the Emirates ICC Elite Umpire Panel.- Playing Days :His career as a first-class cricket player lasted from 1977/78 to 1991/92...	2007-present	17

See also

• Panel of ICC Referees
  Panel of ICC Referees
  The Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Referees is composed of former international cricket players who are appointed by the ICC to oversee all Test match and One Day International cricket matches in the capacity of Match referee. The referees are ultimately in charge of all international cricket matches,...
  
  
• ICC International umpire panel
• List of Test umpires
• ICC Associates and Affiliates Umpire Panel
  ICC Associates and Affiliates Umpire Panel
  The ICC Associates and Affiliates Umpire Panel is a panel of cricket umpires from Associated Member nations officiated by the International Cricket Council. It stands alongside, and is intended to offer a career path into, the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires. Set up in 2005, it takes umpires from all...
  
  

External links

• ICC match officials