ICC announces umpire and referee appointments for upcoming Test and ODI series

The ICC today announced details of umpire and match referee appointments for upcoming Test and ODI series in India, Australia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

First up, Pakistan makes the relatively short trip to India for a series that features five ODIs and three Tests against its arch-rivals. Ian Gould from the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires will stand in the first three ODIs, which will be played at Guwahati, Mohali and Kanpur, with local appointments.

The remaining two ODIs, to be played at Gwalior and Jaipur, will be umpired by Billy Doctrove of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires along with local appointments.

The entire ODI series between India and Pakistan will be overseen by Roshan Mahanama of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees.

Attention will then shift to the three Test matches, which will be overseen by Ranjan Madugalle of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees.

The first Test at Delhi will be umpired by Simon Taufel and Doctrove, both from the Emirates Elite Panel. In the second Test at Kolkata, Doctrove will be joined by Billy Bowden, another member of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires.

The third and final Test, which will take place at Bangalore, will be umpired by Taufel and Bowden.

Meanwhile, Australia will be hosting Sri Lanka in a two-Test series that will be overseen by Mike Procter of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees. Both Tests, which will take place at Brisbane and Hobart, will be umpired by Aleem Dar and Rudi Koertzen, both of the Emirates Elite Panel.

Following that series, the Australians' home season will continue with a three-ODI series against New Zealand. Prior to that, there will be a Twenty20 International between those two teams at Perth which will be umpired by local appointments.

Mark Benson of the Emirates Elite Panel of Umpires will be on duty for the ODIs, which will be played at Adelaide, Sydney and Hobart, and he will be accompanied by local appointments. All four of those limited-overs matches will be refereed by Mahanama.

Moving to southern Africa, there will be a five-match ODI series between host Zimbabwe and the West Indies to be shared between Harare and Bulawayo. These games will all be refereed by Chris Broad of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees and umpired by Brian Jerling from the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires along with local appointments.

In South Africa, New Zealand plays two Tests, three ODIs and a T20I against Graeme Smith's Proteas before heading to Australia for the series mentioned above. Both Tests, to be played at Johannesburg and Centurion, will be umpired by Daryl Harper and Mark Benson.

The T20I will be umpired by Cricket South Africa appointees Ian Howell and Marais Erasmus while Benson will stand in each of the ODIs between South Africa and the Black Caps, at Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, along with local appointments Howell in the first and third matches and Erasmus in the second game.

All South Africa - New Zealand matches will be overseen by Emirates Elite Panel match Referee Javagal Srinath.

Having narrowly defeated Sri Lanka in an ODI series recently, England will return to face Mahela Jayawardena's men in a three-match Test series in December. The series will be refereed by Jeff Crowe of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees.

Koertzen and Asad Rauf will stand in the first Test at Galle, Koertzen and Harper will officiate the second Test in Colombo while Harper and Rauf will take control for the third and final Test at Kandy.

Appointments for future matches and series will be announced in due course.