Cricket Blog

In what is an about turn by the ICC, controversial umpire and the main man who cost India the Sydney test, Steve Bucknor has been removed from the third match to be played in Perth. He has been replaced by Umpire Billy Bowden. The ICC had refused to remove Bucknor in earlier news reports, however, it seems that they have had a reality check in the last few hours.

ICC Chief Executive, Mr Malcolm Speed had the following statement to make:

“It is accepted that Steve, and his on-field colleague Mark Benson, did not have good games by their very high standards and we feel that given the added pressure and attention Steve’s presence would have at the third Test, it is better for the match and for Steve himself if he does not take part.”

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The following umpires and match referees will officiate the ODI and Test series:

ODI Series

Match Referee - Roshan Mahanama

Umpires

First Three ODIs - Ian Gould and local umpires

Last Two ODIs - Billy Doctrove and local umpires

Test Series

Match Referee - Ranjan Madugalle

Umpires

First Match - Simon Taufel and Billy Doctrove

Second Match -  Billy Doctrove and Billy Bowden

Third Match - Simone Taufel and Billy Bowden

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Its just the usual suspects these days, and for a high profile series like this, the ICC has relied on its best test umpires: Simon Taufel, Steve Bucknor and Ian Howell. All three will be umpiring for 2 matches each. As for the one day series, it will be Billy Doctrove (first three matches) and Aleem Dar (remaining four matches). The home umpires have not yet been announced. Two Sri Lankans will be the match referees for the entire tour: Ranjan Madugalle for the tests and Roshan Mahanama for the one-dayers.

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