The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the full list of the all-woman panel of match officials and umpires for the ongoing Womenโs T20 World Cup 2023.
The list features a 13-member group, which includes three match referees and ten umpires.
Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 full umpires and match officials list
In a landmark development, an all-female panel of match officials has been announced by the International Council Council (ICC) for the upcoming Womenโs T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa. pic.twitter.com/t5sXlEii9P
— Economy.pk (@pk_economy) January 27, 2023
The eighth edition of the Womenโs T20 World Cup later this year will have 1๏ธโฃ3๏ธโฃ female officials, surpassing the ongoing ICC Women's #U19T20WorldCup , where 9๏ธโฃ of the 1๏ธโฃ5๏ธโฃ match officials are womenโ๏ธ#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/S5MigjRlow
— The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) January 27, 2023
The T20 World Cup in South Africa is the first time that the competition will feature an all-woman line-up.
Full name list of all-woman panel of match officials
Given below is the full list of the all-woman panel of match officials for the ICC Womenโs T20 World Cup:
Match referees
- GS Lakshmi (India)
- Shandre Fritz (South Africa)
- Michell Pereira (Sri Lanka)
The on-field and TV umpires
- Sue Redfern (England)
- Eloise Sheridan (Australia)
- Claire Polosak (Australia)
- Jacqueline Williams (West Indies)
- Kim Cotton (New Zealand)
- Lauren Agenbag (South Africa)
- Anna Harris (England)
- Vrinda Rathi (India)
- N Janani (India)
- Nimali Perera (Sri Lanka)
The list includes three match referees and ten umpires, from seven different countries.
Harris and Cotton were the officials for the tournament opener between South Africa and Sri Lanka on February 10.
Advancing Women Cricket in India
Ahead of the tournament, the ICC stated how selecting the all-female panel of officials was part of their โstrategic ambition of advancing the involvement and visibility of women in cricketโ.
Moreover, the panel will also feature the highest number of women umpires and match referees in a global ICC tournament. The Womenโs Under-19 T20 World Cup had nine female officials.
Wasim Khan, the general manager of cricket under ICC stated:
โWomen’s cricket has been growing rapidly in recent years and as part of that, we have been building the pathways to ensure more women have the opportunity to officiate at the highest levelโ
Womenโs T20 World Cup 2023
The 2023 Womenโs T20 World Cup is the eight edition of the tournament and started with the first match between the hosts South Africa, and Sri Lanka on February 10. The tournament consists of two groups. Group A consists of defending champions Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and South Africa. Meanwhile, Group B consists of England, India, Ireland, Pakistan, and West Indies.
The top two teams from both the groups will move on into the semi-finals where they will play knockout matches. All the matches of the tournament will take place in Cape Town, Gqeberha, and Paarl. The final match is scheduled to take place on February 26 at Newlands.