The International Cricket Council has announced the list of match officials who will officiate during the first and the second semifinals of the ongoing World Cup to be played on November 15 and November 16.
Australia's Rod Tucker and England's Richard Illingworth will be the two on-field umpires who will officiate in the first semi-final between the hosts India and New Zealand slated to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The first semifinal is going to be extra special for Tucker as it would mark his 100th ODI appearance as an on-field umpire.
Illingworth and Tucker will be joined by Joel Wilson, who will be the third umpire in the contest. Adrian Holdstock and Andy Pycroft will be involved as fourth umpire and match referee respectively.
The second semifinal will be contested between the five-time ODI World Cup winners Australia and South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Richard Kettleborough and Nitin Menon will look after the on-field duties in the high-profile clash whereas Chris Gaffaney of New Zealand will be the third umpire.
Notably, Kettleborough completed his century of ODIs in the ongoing spectacle when the Netherlands took on Sri Lanka at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on October 21. Michael Gough of England will be the fourth umpire in the second semifinal and will be joined by Javagal Srinath as the match referee.
Sean Easey, the ICC Manager of Umpires and Referees congratulated both Tucker and Kettleborough and lauded the efforts of all the match officials involved in the tournament.
"We are happy to announce the match officials for the semifinals of the World Cup. The officiating team has performed to a high standard to this point of the event, and I wish those in the knockouts all the very best.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Rod and Richard for their milestones during this World Cup. Such achievements are only earned via consistently strong performances which is a credit to each of them," said Easey as quoted by ICC.
