News Sports Cricket Aleem Dar and Marais Erasmus to umpire Ashes opener

Aleem Dar and Marais Erasmus to umpire Ashes opener

Dar will also officiate in the second Test in Adelaide, along with New Zealand's Chris Gaffaney, while Erasmus team up with Gaffaney for the third Test in Perth.

Ashes Series Image Source : GETTY IMAGESA file image of Aleem Dar signals a wide ball

Pakistan's Aleem Dar and South Africa's Marais Erasmus will umpire the first Ashes cricket Test between Australia and England, which begins in Brisbane on Nov. 23. Dar will also officiate in the second Test in Adelaide, along with New Zealand's Chris Gaffaney, while Erasmus team up with Gaffaney for the third Test in Perth.

Sri Lanka's Kumar Dhamasena will umpire the last two Tests of the five-match series, joining India's Sundaram Ravi for the fourth test in Melbourne then Joel Wilson of the West Indies for the fifth in Sydney.

West Indian Richie Richardson was appointed match referee for the first three tests while Sri Lanka's Ranjan Madugalle was given the job for the last two matches.

A three-time ICC Umpire of the Year, Dar was at the centre of a hotly disputed decision during the 2013 Ashes series which remains a source of animosity between the Australian and England teams.

Dar ruled that the England batsman Stuart Broad was not out after the Australians appealed for caught behind in a decisive moment in the fourth test at Nottingham.

England went on to win the match and clinch the Ashes but the Australians were furious that Broad was given not out and stood his ground.