Thirteen match officials have been appointed for the inaugural SDG FairBreak Invitational Women’s T20 event to be held in Dubai from May 1st to 15th.
Former ICC international umpire, Simon Taufel, leads an officiating team from nine countries. Simon will be the mentor umpire assisting with performance development functions for the FairBreak officiating team. He is joined by other ICC international experienced umpires in Claire Polosak (Australia), Jacquline Williams (West Indies), Kim Cotton (New Zealand) and Lauren Agenbag (South Africa), who recently officiated in the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup. Men’s and Women’s ICC Test Referee, Steve Bernard, is also part of the officials appointed and he brings a wealth of experience, accompanied by fellow Match Referee, Shandre Fritz from South Africa.
In announcing the SDG FairBreak Officials Team, Tournament Director R.V.Venkatesh said “This is a ground-breaking event which brings together the best women cricketers from 35 countries, with Full Member Nation and Associate Nation players competing together in the same tournament. The officials, as the 7th team, have 7 women umpires, befitting players of a top-level Women’s Tournament. We believe that this is the first time in cricketing history that 7 women umpires are part of the umpiring panel in an ICC-sanctioned tournament. Including the Match Referee Shandre Fritz the officials’ team has 8 women, a record, showing FairBreak’s commitment for women’s equality and women’s development.”
Accepting the appointment, Simon Taufel said “I’m honored to be part of the match officials team for this event and looking forward to supporting the 7th team perform well at a premium women’s event. We have a diverse group of experience, gender, and abilities and we will all be looking to develop these further, using the collective intelligence of the team. FairBreak is committed to providing equality in access to the game and development opportunities, and to be able to play a role in supporting the umpires and referees here is significant.”
The SDG FairBreak Invitational 2022 Women’s T20 event will be played at Dubai International Stadium starting on May 1st and culminating with the Final on May 15th. Comprising six teams, involving more than 90 players from 35 countries, it promises to be an exciting and important event for women’s cricket.
Full list of FairBreak Match Officials:
Simon Taufel : Australia
Claire Polosak : Australia
Jacquline Williams : West Indies
Kim Cotton : New Zealand
Lauren Agenbag : South Africa
Tabarak Dar : Hong Kong
John Prakash : Hong Kong
Akbar Ali : UAE
Shubdha Bhosle Gaikwad : India
Shivani Mishra : Qatar
Jasmine Naeem : England
Match Referees:
Steve Bernard : Australia
Shandre Fritz : South Africa
SDG Impact Fund is the title sponsor of the FairBreak Invitational T20 Tournament to be hosted in Dubai in conjunction with Cricket Hong Kong
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