The ongoing, inaugural edition of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 Women’s Twenty20 (T20) World Cup, is well in its business end and with a couple of knockouts on the schedule for the 27th of January’s Under-19 action, the ICC has named the match official appointments for the semi-finals names of officials for the knockouts.
After an enthralling set of games so far, the tournament is set to witness the clash of 4 of the best teams in the knockouts that now is only a sleep away. With a hung points table in Group 1 with India, Australia, Bangladesh, and South Africa finishing with 6 points each, table toppers, India and Australia with better Net Run Rates (NRR) advanced to the knockouts.
From Group 2, the two unbeaten sides in the tournament, England and New Zealand, with 8 points each advanced to the knockouts having finished better than Pakistan (4) and Rwanda (2) from their group. While the 1st of 2 Semi-Finals will have India and New Zealand play for a spot in the Finals, there’ll be a game in a game as an Ashes scenario emerges with England and Australia set to lock horns for the 2nd Semi-Final.
Match officials for India’s contest over New Zealand that gets underway at 1:30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST) see Neeyamur Rahul as the match referee, Sarah Bartlett, and Lisa McCabe as the on-field female umpire pair, Jasmine Naeem as the TV umpire and Maria Abbott as the fourth umpire.
Semi-Final of U19 Women’s World Cup 🇮🇳 vs🇳🇿
In their Super Six stages, India won one and lost the other, while New Zealand registered 2 wins in 2.
Who will proceed to the finals?🤔#CricketTwitter #U19T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/rXpbWt5rut
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 26, 2023
Sarah Bartlett, the former English county wicketkeeper-batter, has officiated a couple of Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and has officiated as many as 29 games domestically in England, be it the Vitality Women’s T20 Cup, the Women’s Hundred, or the Charlotte Edwards Cup. Her on-field partner, Australia’s Lisa McCabe, having got involved with umpiring in 2016 is vastly experienced and has featured across many tournaments including, the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL), Men’s Premier First Grade match, Under 18 Female National Championships, Australia A vs England Lions and many more.
England’s Jasmine Naeem, wife of Naeem Ashraf who’s an umpire too has locally and regionally officiated across Lancashire and Greater Manchester for the past decade. She’s also officiated matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and internationally a T20 game and the Women’s Test between England and South Africa. Vincentian Maria Abbott, the 4th umpire, has been in the business for over 20 years and had called her recent introduction in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (W-CPL) is the highest level she’s got to.
The 2nd Semi-Final between England and Australia is scheduled for a 5:30 PM IST start. The game will see Owen Chirombe as the match referee, and the female duo of Candace la Borde and Sarah Dambanevana as the on-field umpires, while Dedunu de Silva and Kerrin Kaaste fill in as TV and 4th umpire respectively.
Candace la Borde created history by becoming the first woman from Trinidad and Tobago to stand in an ICC Cricket World Cup, she’s officiated games throughout the competition and also recently officiated in the Trinidad Dream XI T10 Blast. Her partner on the field, Zimbabwe’s Sarah Dambanevana, has also officiated games throughout the tournament and the former player-turned-umpire, holds experience from officiating in the Women’s domestic tournament as well.
Sri Lanka’s 44-year-old, Dedunu de Silva, is a former international player turned umpire who has officiated 8 T20Is and had also featured in the most recent edition of the Women’s Asia Cup. South Africa’s 24-year young Kerrin Klaaste recently passed the written, national exam and qualified to umpire international cricket matches, and throughout the tournament was seen officiating games.
