Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

ICC expands elite panel of refs

March 04, 2004 23:00 IST

The International Cricket Council announced on Thursday that the Emirates Elite Panel of Referees would be expanded to eight, after adding four former international players to the Panel,  and former Pakistan player Wasim Raja would not be offered a new contract.

Added to the Panel are former Australian fast bowler Alan Hurst, former England batsmen Chris Broad, former New Zealand captain Jeff Crowe and former Sri Lanka batsman Roshan Mahanama.

They join Chief Referee and former Sri Lanka captain Ranjan Madugalle, former India captain Gundappa Vishwanath, former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd and South Africa great Mike Procter on the panel.

ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said the Match Referee is a critical element of the ICC's focus on ensuring that the game is played in the right spirit.

"The ICC Match Referee plays a critical role in ensuring that international cricket is played both within the rules and within the spirit of the game," said Speed.

"Expanding the Panel to eight gives us a deeper pool of former international players with a strong feel for the game who will be able to apply their knowledge when making judgments about on-field events.

"Moving to eight referees also provides the ICC with the flexibility needed to meet the international schedule over the coming 12 months."

New Panel member Roshan Mahanama said he is delighted to be appointed to the panel.

"Obviously I am delighted to be part of the Emirates Elite Panel of Referees. The ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup has been my first appointment as an ICC referee and I have really enjoyed the role," said Mahanama.

"It will be good to continue to have an active role in international cricket and this is something that I am very much looking forward to," he added.

Speed also said the quality of applicants for the roles provided the ICC with a strong field from which to pick the final panel.

"It was very pleasing to speak to a number of very well qualified applicants for these positions from around the cricketing world. In the end we had many more applicants than positions available and for the ICC this is a strong position to be in," said Speed.

"Unfortunately, for some people the strength of the field meant that they missed out on contracts on this occasion.

"Despite the individual disappointment, it means that the ICC has been able to pick the best available candidates to take on this critical role for international cricket."

The new appointments will take effect from April l, 2004 in keeping with all contracts for the Emirates Elite Panel of Umpires and Referees.

Biographies of new panel members and playing statistics courtesy of cricinfo.com

Tests

Chris Broad M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 25 44 2 1661 162 39.54 37.86 6 6 10 0

Chris Broad O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 1 0 4 0 - - 0 0 - 4.00

ODIs

Chris Broad M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 34 34 0 1361 106 40.02 55.61 1 11 10 0

Chris Broad O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 1 0 6 0 - - 0 0 - 6.00

First-class (career: 1979 - 1994)

Chris Broad M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 340 613 38 21892 227* 38.07 50 105 189 0

Chris Broad O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 271.5 60 1037 16 64.81 2-14 0 0 101.9 3.81

Tests

Jeff Crowe M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 39 65 4 1601 128 26.24 34.36 3 6 41 0

Jeff Crowe O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 3 1 9 0 - - 0 0 - 3.00

ODIs

Jeff Crowe M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 75 71 12 1518 88* 25.72 61.80 0 7 28 0

Jeff Crowe O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 1 0 1 0 - - 0 0 - 1.00

First-class (career: 1977/78 - 1991/92)

Jeff Crowe M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 180 304 34 10233 159 37.90 22 56 199 0

Jeff Crowe Balls M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 100 7 55 1 55.00 1-10 0 0 100.0 3.30

Tests

Alan Hurst M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 12 20 3 102 26 6.00 52.04 0 0 3 0

Alan Hurst Balls M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 3054 74 1200 43 27.90 5-28 2 0 71.0 2.35

ODIs

Alan Hurst M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 8 4 4 7 3* - 36.84 0 0 1 0

Alan Hurst Balls M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 402 11 203 12 16.91 5-21 0 1 33.5 3.02

First-class (career: 1972/73 - 1980/81)

Alan Hurst M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 77 88 30 504 27* 8.68 0 0 26 0

Alan Hurst Balls M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 15795 348 7360 280 26.28 8-84 11 1 56.4 2.79

Tests

Roshan Mahanama M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 52 89 1 2576 225 29.27 4 11 56 0

Roshan Mahanama O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 6 0 30 0 - - 0 0 - 5.00

ODIs

Roshan Mahanama M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 213 198 23 5162 119* 29.49 60.59 4 35 109 0

Roshan Mahanama O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 0.2 0 7 0 - - 0 0 - 21.00

First-class (1984/85 - 1998/99)

Roshan Mahanama M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 137 211 18 6698 225 34.70 12 31 136 0

Roshan Mahanama O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 6 0 30 0 - - 0 0 - 5.00