The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 is just around the corner. The quadrennial tournament will be staged in India for the first time in twelve years. The fans and spectators from all around the world, especially India, are pumped up for the biggest event of the year.
Umpiring and officiating is a very important aspect of any sport. For a tournament as magnanimous as the Cricket World Cup, the teams and the fans hope that the correct decisions are made.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has named a team of 20 Match Officials for the upcoming World Cup In this article, TSN provides you the latest update from the ICC regarding the umpires of the tournament opener. There are some familiar faces in there!
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Who will officiate the ICC ODI World Cup opener?
Kumara Dharmasena and Nitin Menon will be the on-field umpires for the opening match of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. The match will be played between England and New Zealand on October 05, 2023. The centerstage will be the newly-constructed Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The two umpires will be accompanied by Javagal Shrinath as match referee. Paul Wilson will be the TV Umpire, while Shahid Saikat from Bangladesh will be the Fourth Umpire.
Menon will be officiating his first match at the 50-over World Cup, while Dharmasena is one of the veterans in the bunch. Shahid Saikat will be officiating in his first-ever ICC Tournament. He also becomes the first Bangladeshi to umpire at an ODI World Cup.
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Who are the umpires selected by the ICC for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023?
A team of sixteen umpires has been selected by the ICC to officiate the on-field decisions at the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup in India. All the umpires are vastly experienced, and have had a proven track record of umpiring in the biggest cricket matches in the past.
Umpires at the ICC ODI World Cup
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).
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List of Match Referees at the ICC ODI World Cup 2023
Along with the 16 umpires, the four match referees make up the 20-men officiating team at the ICC World Cup 2023. The match referees have all been international cricketers in the past - Jeff Crowe (New Zealand), Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe), Richie Richardson (West Indies) and Javagal Srinath (India).
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