The International Cricket Council has announced the 15 match officials for the warm-up matches and group stage of the inaugural ICC Under 19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa.
Nine out of the 15 officials are women, making this the highest number of female match officials to be appointed for an ICC event. Twelve umpires and three match referees will officiate in the tournament, which will be played across four venues in the two host cities: Benoni and Potchefstroom.
Former Sri Lanka women’s team captain, Vanessa de Silva leads the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Referees which includes former Bangladesh international cricketer Neeyamur Rashid and Zimbabwe’s Owen Chirombe.
The tournament will also see four members of the Emirates ICC International Panel of Umpires – Wayne Knights, Ahmad Pakteen, Virender Sharma and Shahid Saikat officiate in different matches.
Members of the International Panel of ICC Development Umpires who will officiate include former Sri Lanka woman batter Dedunu de Silva, Kerrin Klaaste, Maria Abbott, Sarah Bartlett, Jasmine Naeem, Lisa McCabe, Sarah Dembanevana and Candace la Borde.
The appointments for the tournament semi-finals and final will be named at the end of the League phase.
Adrian Griffith, ICC Senior Manager – Umpires and Referees said, “We are pleased to announce the match officials who will be officiating the historic ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup. We are delighted that this group of officials reflects the work we have been putting in to advance women in our sport as part of the ICC’s global development strategy. Every appointed official has steadily made a good name for themselves in the cricket ecosystem and we look forward to watching them as they play their part in the history that will be made in South Africa. We wish them the best of luck and know that they will do an excellent job.” (ANI)
