Major League Cricket: Experienced Panel Of Match Officials In Place For The Inaugural Season

Cricket: The Major League Cricket (MLC) announced on Thursday the panel of 11 match officials for America’s first-ever professional franchise T20 cricket league, set to launch on July 13, 2023.

Nine umpires and two match referees will form an experienced group of officials for the 19 matches set to be played at two cricket-specific venues in North Texas -- Grand Prairie Stadium, Grand Prairie in Texas and Church Street Park, Morrisville, North Carolina -- leading up to the championship match on July 30. 

The group includes three umpires who currently serve on the ICC International Panel of Umpires: Wayne Knights, Paul Wilson and Ruchira Palliyaguru, the organisers informed in a release on Thursday. 

Four US-based umpires -– Jermaine Lindo, Rushane Samuels, Vijaya Prakash Mallela and Billy Taylor –- comprise the remainder of the group, with Lindo and Mallela both currently serving on the International Panel of ICC Development Umpires. Taylor, who has recently relocated to the United States from his native England, has served on the England and Wales Cricket Board’s Full Umpires List. 

Leading the team of match officials is Simon Taufel, five-time ICC Umpire of the Year, who will serve as a Match Referee along with Reon King, who currently serves on the International Panel of ICC Match Referees. Completing the crew, Owen Brown and Colin Edwards will perform fourth umpire duties throughout the tournament.  

“The umpire crew forms a critical component of the game and we are delighted to welcome an experienced group that includes some of the best officials in the world,” said Justin Geale, Tournament Director, Major League Cricket. 

“Our league will provide a platform for domestic umpires to officiate in high-level competition watched by a global audience. We’re really pleased that two umpires who have performed with distinction in Minor League Cricket over the past two seasons will also be part of the Playing Control Team performing fourth umpire duties,” he added.

“The cricket world will be watching this historic event and the “seventh team” in MLC – our match officials’ group -– is focused on performing to the highest standard with a quality mix of international and domestic-based umpires,” said Simon Taufel. “I’m looking forward to bringing my experience to the event and assisting in the development of umpiring in the United States.” 

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The first-ever MLC match will be played on July 13, under the lights at America’s new premier cricket venue, the 7,200-capacity Grand Prairie Stadium, near Dallas.