The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is all set to kick off in India within a few weeks. With not even a month left until the start of the tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the list of officials that will be part of the upcoming World Cup 2023. The tournament will begin on October 5, when defending champion England will face New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The Indian team will start the tournament against Australia on October 8. Top eight qualified directly for the tournament after doing well in the ODI Super League. Sri Lanka and Netherlands made it to the tournament after finishing the World Cup qualifiers in the top two positions. All teams will play one game each against nine opponents. Top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals. The upcoming tournament will have a total of 48 matches, while the final will take place on November 19 (Sunday) at Narendra Modi Stadium. All these World Cup matches will be played across ten different venues in India.
ICC announces List of Match Officials for the upcoming Cricket World Cup 2023
On Friday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) revealed the list of match officials that will be part of the upcoming World Cup 2023. A total of 20 match officials are on the list, including 16 umpires and four match referees. Out of 16 umpires, 12 belong to the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires. On the other hand, the remaining four are from the ICC Emerging Umpire Panel.
Notably, among these 16 umpires, three were part of the final of the 2019 World Cup between England and New Zealand: Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, and Rodney Tucker. Notably, only Aleem Dar (Pakistan) will not be part of the upcoming tournament. He was part of the 2019 World Cup final. He stepped down from the Elite Panel earlier this March.
List of Umpires in Cricket World Cup 2023
| Umpire | Country | Panel |
| Christopher Gaffaney | New Zealand | ICC Emirates Elite Panel |
| Kumar Dharmasena | Sri Lanka | ICC Emirates Elite Panel |
| Marais Erasmus | South Africa | ICC Emirates Elite Panel |
| Michael Gough | England | ICC Emirates Elite Panel |
| Nitin Menon | India | ICC Emirates Elite Panel |
| Paul Reiffel | Australia | ICC Emirates Elite Panel |
| Richard Illingworth | England | ICC Emirates Elite Panel |
| Richard Kettleborough | England | ICC Emirates Elite Panel |
| Rodney Tucker | Australia | ICC Emirates Elite Panel |
| Joel Wilson | West Indies | ICC Emirates Elite Panel |
| Ahsan Raza | Pakistan | ICC Emirates Elite Panel |
| Adrian Holdstock | South Africa | ICC Emirates Elite Panel |
| Ibne Shahid | Bangladesh | ICC Emerging Umpire |
| Paul Wilson | Australia | ICC Emerging Umpire |
| Alex Wharf | England | ICC Emerging Umpire |
| Chris Brown | New Zealand | ICC Emerging Umpire |
List of Match Referees in Cricket World Cup 2023
Apart from 16 umpires, there will be four match referees as well. Those are Jeff Crowe (New Zealand), Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe), Richie Richardson (West Indies), and Javagal Srinath (India).
Notably, all four of these officials have also played cricket for their respective countries and are from the Emirates ICC Elite Panel. Meanwhile, for the opening game on October 5 between England and New Zealand, Dharmasena and Nitin Menon will be the on-field umpires. Sharfuddoula will be the fourth umpire, while Paul Wilson is the TV umpire. For that game, Pycroft will be the match referee.