The International Cricket Council on Thursday announced the umpire and match referee appointments for the ICC Champions Trophy, which will be organised from 1-18 June at Cardiff, Edgbaston and The Oval, London.
Marais Erasmus and Kumar Dharmasena will officiate the all-important India vs Pakistan match to be played in Birmingham, on June 4.
Chris Broad, David Boon and Andy Pycroft of the Emirates elite panel of ICC match referees will officiate in the tournament while the umpiring responsibilities will be shared between all the 12 umpires, namely: Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel and Rod Tucker.
For Aleem, who won the ICC umpire of the year award from 2009 to 2011, it will be the fifth Champions Trophy, while Gould will feature in his third edition. For Dharmasena, Erasmus, Kettleborough, Llong, Oxenford and Tucker, it will be the second experience, whereas it will be the maiden ICC Champions Trophy for Gaffaney, Illingworth, Ravi and Reiffel.
Ravi and Tucker will be the on-field umpires for the opening match between England and Bangladesh at The Oval on 1 June, with Oxenford in the third umpire's room along with Boon as match referee, while Gaffaney will be the fourth umpire.
The umpire and match referee appointments for the semi-finals and final will be announced after the teams have been confirmed.
Umpire appointments:
Thu, 1 June – England v Bangladesh, The Oval (10h30): S. Ravi and Rod Tucker (on-field), Bruce Oxenford (third umpire), Chris Gaffaney (fourth umpire), David Boon (match referee)
Fri, 2 June – New Zealand v Australia, Edgbaston (10h30): Richard Illingworth and Richard Kettleborough (on-field), Nigel Llong (third umpire), Kumar Dharmasena (fourth umpire), Andy Pycroft (match referee)
Sat, 3 June – Sri Lanka v South Africa, The Oval (10h30): Ian Gould and Aleem Dar (on-field), Paul Reiffel (third umpire), Bruce Oxenford (fourth umpire), David Boon (match referee)
Sun, 4 June – India v Pakistan, Edgbaston (10h30): Marais Erasmus and Kumar Dharmasena (on-field), Richard Kettleborough (third umpire), Rod Tucker (fourth umpire), Andy Pycroft (match referee)
Mon, 5 June – Australia v Bangladesh, The Oval (13h30): Nigel Llong and Chris Gaffaney (on-field), Ian Gould (third umpire), S.Ravi (fourth umpire), Chris Broad (match referee)
Tue, 6 June – England v New Zealand, Cardiff (10h30): Paul Reiffel and Bruce Oxenford (on-field), Rod Tucker (third umpire), Aleem Dar (fourth umpire), Andy Pycroft (match referee)
Wed, 7 June – Pakistan v South Africa, Edgbaston (13h30): Richard Illingworth and S.Ravi (on-field), Kumar Dharmasena (third umpire), Nigel Llong (fourth umpire), Chris Broad (match referee)
Thu, 8 June – India v Sri Lanka, The Oval (10h30): Richard Kettleborough and Rod Tucker (on-field), Marais Erasmus (third umpire), Paul Reiffel (fourth umpire), David Boon (match referee)
Fri, 9 June – New Zealand v Bangladesh, Cardiff (10h30): Nigel Llong and Ian Gould (on-field), Aleem Dar (third umpire), Richard Illingworth (fourth umpire), Chris Broad (match referee)
Sat, 10 June – England v Australia, Edgbaston (10h30); Chris Gaffaney and Kumar Dharmasena (on-field), S.Ravi (third umpire), Marais Erasmus (fourth), Andy Pycroft (match referee)
Sun, 11 June – India v South Africa, The Oval (10h30): Aleem Dar and Paul Reiffel (on-field), Richard Illingworth (third umpire), Richard Kettleborough (fourth umpire), David Boon (match referee)
Mon, 12 June – Sri Lanka v Pakistan, Cardiff (10h30): Bruce Oxenford and Marais Erasmus (on-field), Chris Gaffaney (third umpire), Ian Gould (fourth umpire), Chris Broad (match referee)
Image: Umpire Marais Erasmus
Photograph: BCCI
You can't be playing cricket at 2am: Coulter-Nile blasts IPL rules
IPL 10 Cheerleaders: Who do you like best?
IN PICS: KKR's lucky charm SRK
India favourites against Pakistan in Champions Trophy, says Kapil Dev
Harbhajan writes to Kumble asking to look into Ranji fee structure