The Story Of The ICC Neutral Umpires!

Richard Illingworth — son of the famous Ashes winning captain from Yorkshire, Ray, and a former England left-arm spinner — who joined the ICC panel of umpires in 2013 has officiated in Test matches in India, seven times before the first Test against the West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium. He has been voted as the Umpire of the Year by the ICC in 2018, 2022, 2023 and 2024. He has officiated in 10 ODIs in India, including eight in World Cups and in matches featuring India, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa and New Zealand. Currently in the ICC Elite Panel, Illingworth is one of the umpires most respected by players across the world. There are nine overseas umpires who have officiated in more than 10 Tests in India like Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka -14),Richard Kettleborough (England-14) Marias Erasmus (South Africa-10), Ian Gould (England-12), Rudi Koertzen (South Africa-11), Nigel Long (England-12), David Shepherd (England-12), Simon Taufel (Australia-10) and Rod Tucker (Australia-11). The ICC’s decision to go for neutral umpires was trialled in 1992 and it became a permanent feature in 1994; all done to eliminate alleged biased umpiring by home umpires. It began with one neutral umpire, but from 2002, both on-field umpires were nominated from neutral countries. The ICC reverted to the home umpire panel during Covid times before reverting to the neutral panel in 2022. The on-field umpires for the ongoing Test – India-West Indies — are Illingworth and Alex Wharf, also from England. The third umpire, who helps in DRS decisions, is Paul Reiffel from Australia. The match referee is Zimbabwean Andy Pycroft.