5 months ago
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LOCAL umpire Chris Taylor is over the moon following his appointment by cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), to officiate during the upcoming warm-up matches ahead of the men’s T20 World Cup. Taylor shared that while it was somewhat unexpected, his body of work over the years has finally paid off.
“It’s a great honour to be appointed for something like these World Cup warm-up matches. It was a bit unexpected but the hard work was put in and it’s good to get the opportunity to officiate in matches with the best players in the world.”
The 16 warm-up matches will be played from May 27 to June 1 with matches set for the United States and Trinidad and Tobago. According to Taylor, local umpires are making their marks on the international stage and he is pleased to be among that crop of officials. He also lauded the likes of Steve Bucknor and the late Douglas Sang Hue as ‘trendsetters’.
“Local umpires have been making it to the international stage. Before, we had the likes of Douglas Sang Hue and Steve Bucknor who went right to the top. Currently, we have Jacqueline Williams, who is the first female umpire out of the Caribbean to get an international opportunity, and is now the most decorated female umpire across the world.
“We also have Patrick Gustard, who is on the international panel and is one of four umpires from the Caribbean on that stage. Now, we have more representation than ever before,” he explained.
Taylor revealed that the ultimate aim is to reach on the ICC’s elite panel of umpires. To date, the only local umpire to reach that level was Steve Bucknor.
“It’s not an easy field but it has its rewards. My aim now is to get to the elite panel, that’s the ultimate goal. The elite panel consists of the best 12 umpires in the world and the Caribbean currently has one umpire on that list in Joel Wilson from Trinidad and Tobago. In the past it we’ve had two, Billy Doctrove from Dominica and Bucknor,” he stated.
English (US) ·