The ICC release below details the appointment of New Zealand umpire Tony Hill to the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC umpires.
New Zealand Cricket Chief Executive Justin Vaughan comments on the appointment:
"New Zealand Cricket is delighted with Tony Hill's appointment to the Emirates Elite Panel. Tony has been an outstanding umpire for many years both in New Zealand and overseas and has earned the respect of teams and officials throughout the cricketing world.
"Tony's promotion reflects well on the standard of umpiring in New Zealand and it is great we now have two umpires on the Elite Panel, with Tony joining Billy Bowden as one of the top tier of cricket's match officials."
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Gould and Hill make the step up to join the world’s elite umpires
Andy Pycroft appointed to Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees
The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that umpires Tony Hill and Ian Gould have been added to the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires following the annual review and selection process.
The two umpires, who have been serving on the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires, have been elevated to the top level by the ICC Umpires Selection Panel made up of David Richardson, ICC’s General Manager – Cricket, ICC Chief Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle, ex-England player, coach and former first-class umpire David Lloyd and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, the former India captain and international umpire.
With the imminent retirement of Steve Bucknor coupled with last year’s retirement of Darrell Hair the number on the elite panel will be back up to 12.
In addition, four other umpires from the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires – Marais Erasmus (South Africa), Rodney Tucker (Australia), Amish Saheba (India) and Nigel Llong (England and Wales) – have been identified for overseas appointments in addition to umpiring international fixtures taking place in their own countries.
“We are delighted to confirm the promotion of both Ian and Tony to the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires,” said Mr Richardson.
“Their promotions are a result of perseverance, hard work and commitment and I am sure these two umpires will serve as an inspiration to the other Emirates International Panel umpires who are striving hard to break into the top flight.
“Apart from their sound decision-making, we have been particularly impressed with Ian and Tony’s team-work and ability to handle pressure when they have been given opportunities to umpire Test and high-level ODI cricket.
“They both enjoy a good rapport with players and have earned a lot of respect in their international careers to date. We are confident they will be able to make the step up to the elite level,” he said.
Following the appointment, Mr Gould said: “I am delighted to have been selected on to the elite panel. I believe that having played cricket at a high level for 21 years I understand the game from the players’ point of view and that I bring that empathy out in my umpiring. Although it’s a very different challenge to playing the game, being an umpire is enormously rewarding and a great way to stay involved.”
Mr Hill added: “I am thrilled by this appointment. For me, umpiring is all about teamwork and so to be part of such a great team as the Emirates Elite Panel is huge for me. I am looking forward to continuing to work hard and repaying the faith the ICC has shown in me.”
Appointments to fill the vacancies left by Gould and Hill on the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires will be made by the relevant home boards in due course.
Meanwhile in a separate appointment, former Zimbabwe Test batsman Andy Pycroft has been added to the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees bringing the total number of referees on the Elite Panel to seven.
ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: “Andy is a real cricket man with a remarkably diverse background within the game. At the highest level, he has been a player, team manager, selector and broadcaster so that, coupled with his legal background, makes him an excellent addition to the elite referees’ panel.
“He has a deep understanding of and passion for cricket and I am confident he will do an excellent job,” said Mr Lorgat.
Mr Pycroft added: “I am fortunate that I have been involved in cricket for many years and in many different capacities. Whether as a player, coach, administrator or commentator I have always tried to be fair and respect the game. I am looking forward to this new challenge and I will be doing my very best to apply that range of skills effectively.”
Background:
Ian Gould (51) joined the first-class umpires’ panel in England in 2002 and was elevated to the Emirates International Panel in 2006. Since then he has stood in two Tests and 31 ODIs. During his playing days, he was a wicketkeeper-batsman for Middlesex, Sussex and England in a first-class career that ran from 1975 to 1996. In that time he played 298 first-class matches scoring 8,756 runs at an average of 26.05. He played 18 One-Day Internationals for England in 1983.
From Auckland, New Zealand, Tony Hill (57) has been a consistent and reliable umpire at every level at which he has been appointed and has been a member of the Emirates International Panel since 1998. In that time he has stood in nine Tests and 63 ODIs. He is very active in New Zealand and when he travels in the role of training and mentoring up-and-coming umpires. He is a regional training officer in the Northern Districts and runs an online question-and-answer forum for umpires of all levels.
Andy Pycroft (52) played three Tests and 20 ODIs for his native Zimbabwe and appeared as a player in three ICC Cricket World Cup tournaments. Apart from captaining his country he has also completed stints as national coach, national team manager, national selector and television commentator. He has sat on several ICC committees including the ICC Technical and Rules Committee and the ICC Cricket Committee. Having attended Cape Town University he worked as an attorney-at-law for 22 years, including 17 years as a partner of the law firm, Winterton, Holmes and Hill.
The Emirates Elite Panels of ICC Umpires and ICC Match Referees comprise the top match officials in the world. To ensure the highest possible standards and guarantee impartial adjudication, two umpires from the Emirates Elite Panel stand in almost all Test matches around the world, while one member stands with a home umpire from the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires for One-Day International matches.
On average, each member of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires annually stands in eight-10 Test matches and 10-15 ODIs, not including any ICC events in that year. This is a potential on-field workload of 75 days plus travel and preparation time, per year. The composition of both panels is reviewed every year and announced around the end of March/beginning of April. These selected officials are contracted to work for the ICC on a full-time basis in a programme shared with their home boards.
The ICC supports the ongoing development of all international officials through the appointment of Regional Umpiring Performance Managers, by bringing them together for training on an annual basis, by employing a full-time digital video specialist to help review decisions, and by conducting regular reviews in Dubai as they pass through on assignment.
The Emirates Elite Panel was first introduced in April 2002. The current panels are:
Umpires
Mark Benson
Billy Bowden
Steve Bucknor*
Aleem Dar
Steve Davis
Asoka De Silva
Billy Doctrove
Ian Gould
Daryl Harper
Tony Hill
Rudi Koertzen
Asad Rauf
Simon Taufel
*Steve Bucknor has announced his retirement from international cricket umpiring with his final appointments set to come during the West Indies v England ODI series currently underway in the Caribbean.
Match Referees
Chris Broad
Jeff Crowe
Alan Hurst
Ranjan Madugalle
Roshan Mahanama
Andy Pycroft
Javagal Srinath
For more information about the ICC match officials go to http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/about-icc/match-officials.html
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