LONDON, Feb 23: International Cricket Council has announced the match officials for the series between India and Pakistan and South Africa and Zimbabwe.
"Steve Bucknor from the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires will become the first umpire to stand in 100 Test matches in the second match of the series between India and Pakistan on 16-20 March in Kolkata," read a ICC statement issued here.
Bucknor will stand with Darrell Hair in the second match of the three-match series. Hair will stand with fellow Emirates Elite Panel umpire Rudi Koertzen in the First Test while Simon Taufel and Billy Bowden will officiate in the Third Test.
Bowden will be the ICC-appointed umpire in the first three One-day Internationals between India and Pakistan while Koertzen will take this role in the final three ODIs.
By reaching a century of Test appearances, Bucknor will become the first recipient of the ICC Golden Bails Award, part of the ICC's Umpire Recognition programme which also includes the Bronze Bails Award (for 100 ODI appearances) and Silver Bails Award (for 200 ODIs).
Bucknor's first Test match in the middle was the Fourth Test between West Indies and India in Kingston, Jamaica in April 1989. He has officiated in four consecutive ICC Cricket World Cup finals.
The match referee for the India v Pakistan series will be Chris Broad from the Elite Panel of ICC Referees while Alan Hurst will referee the matches between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Billy Doctrove from Dominica who, like Bucknor, is also a qualified football referee will stand in his first Test match since two neutral officials became mandatory in the first Test of the South Africa v Zimbabwe series in March. -Agencies
