ICC Match Officials' workshop concludes in Dubai

All 12 members of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and seven Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, as well as three members of the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires and four umpire coaches attended the annual seminar.

The workshop covered a wide range of topics as the match officials geared up for the forthcoming international season, which culminates with the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2015.

Amongst the topics that were discussed included player behaviour, Decision Review System (DRS) and TV umpire training, illegal bowling actions, playing conditions and CWC 2015 planning.

The workshop was overseen by ICC’s Umpire Performance and Training Manager Simon Taufel. During these sessions, the match officials also exchanged information and shared their experiences from the previous season.

Speaking after the workshop, ICC General Manager – Cricket Geoff Allardice said in a statement: “We don’t get many opportunities to get all of our match officials together in the one place, so we use the forum to cover a lot of the topical issues in international cricket. There was a wealth of knowledge and experience in the room, and it was pleasing to see the excellent teamwork displayed during the three days. This can only assist the ICC in sending a stronger and more consistent team of umpires and referees to international matches.”

ICC Chief Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle said: “Workshops are always very interesting. It is where we meet and share our experiences with colleagues who we haven’t met for the whole year. Some of them we haven’t ever met so it is an occasion to share our lives and our thoughts with them. But this is about cricket and preparation for the ICC CWC. That’s our priority and this is where we get together and talk about things – the problems, the areas we need to focus on - so that we are all working on levels of consistency to achieve professional standards to the best of our abilities. That is not done during a match, it is done in the preparation stage here. So it’s a good starting point and we are going to use this as a launching pad over the next few months to be ready when the CWC comes along.”

ICC’s Umpire Performance and Training Manager Simon Taufel said: “We are keen to always explore opportunities where we can get better at what we do, and we’re looking for the guys to show leadership and keep raising standards. It was a holistic session and with DRS being used in CWC 2015 it was an important start to our preparations here in September and moving forward because we’re going to be in the third most watched sporting event in the world. We need to deliver and be a successful 15th team in that competition.”

Rod Tucker of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires said: “One of the massive benefits that we get out of these conferences and seminars is that we get together to discuss what has gone on in the past and plan for the future. Personally, I want to learn what the other guys are doing so I can improve (the direction) where I’m going.”

On Monday, the attendees also participated in a series of team-building exercises at the Emirates Cabin Crew Training Centre.

List of ICC Match Officials (alphabetical order):

Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees: David Boon, Chris Broad, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Roshan Mahanama, Andy Pycroft, Javagal Srinath

Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires: Billy Bowden, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker

Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires: Chris Gaffaney, Ranmore Martinez, S. Ravi

ICC Umpire Coaches: Denis Burns, David Levens, Peter Manuel

ICC Umpire Performance and Training Manager: Simon Taufel