David Boon joins list of 'home' match referees

BENGALURU: After being in charge of 57 Tests abroad, ICC Elite Panel Match Referee David Boon has been bestowed with a rare opportunity to monitor a home series against India. He is the first Australian to officiate as a match referee in a Test match involving the Australian men’s team.
According to ICC's policy of appointing match officials, to ensure the highest possible standards and guarantee impartial adjudication, two umpires from the Elite Panel stand in almost all Test matches around the world, while one member stands with a home umpire from the International Panel of ICC Umpires for One-Day International matches.The match referee, representing the global governing body, is also appointed from a neutral country. However, new guidelines following the Covid-19 pandemic have led to arbiters from the host nation officiating in an international match on home soil which is otherwise not possible due to the neutrality policy.
According to the ICC’s interim changes to the playing conditions, the requirement to appoint neutral match officials will be temporarily removed from the playing conditions for all international formats owing to the current logistical challenges with international travel. The ICC will be able to appoint locally based match officials from the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Officials and the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Officials.
Chris Broad (right) (Getty Images)
Earlier this year, when West Indies and Pakistan toured England in summer after a pandemic-enforced break, Chris Broad became the first ICC match referee to officiate in a Test match involving his home side. After officiating in 100 Test matches as a neutral official, the former England southpaw sat in the Match Referee’s box for six straight Tests involving England. He even penalised his own son, Stuart Broad for the breach of ICC Code of Conduct in the first Test at Old Trafford against Pakistan after he used inappropriate language.
Ten years ago, Chris had been the match referee on home soil for the first time since the ICC introduced the ‘Match Referee system’, when he was in charge of the two-Test MCC Spirit of Cricket series between Australia and Pakistan. India’s Javagal Srinath joined him in 2019 when he officiated Afghanistan’s home Test against Ireland in Dehradun in 2019. The match also saw two Indian umpires, S Ravi and Nitin Menon, officiating together in a Test match in India after the ICC introduced a neutral policy for match officials.
Jeff Crowe (Getty Images)
New Zealand’s Jeff Crowe will also join the ranks of Chris Broad when New Zealand take on West Indies in the first Test in Hamilton on December 3 (Boon will join the club on December 17). For Crowe, his first Test assignment in New Zealand would also mark his 100th Test match as a Match referee.
The recently concluded limited -over series of Zimbabwe in Pakistan was officiated by Pakistan's Muhammed Javed Malik from the ICC International panel. However, the high-profile England tour of South Africa will be monitored by Andy Pycroft, the elite panel match referee from Zimbabwe. South Africa have no match referees in the elite panel after the retirement of Mike Procter in 2008.
After the ICC introduced the match referee system, as many as 31 match referees officiated in Test cricket. A total of 13 officials served on the elite panel while seven are presently on the panel. They are Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka, 193 Tests) who is also the chief match referee, Chris Broad (England, 106 Tests) David Boon (Australia, 57 Tests), Jeff Crowe (New Zealand, 99 Tests), Richie Richardson (West Indies, 29 Tests), Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe, 76 Tests) and Javagal Srinath (India, 53 Tests).
Gundappa Vishwanath (India, 15 Tests), Clive Lloyd (West Indies, 53 Tests), Alan Hurst (Australia, 45 Tests), Wazim Raja (Pakistan, 15 Tests), Mike Procter (South Africa, 47 Tests) and Roshan Mahanama (Sri Lanka, 61 Tests) were the match referees retired after serving in the elite panel.