ICC appoints Women Umpires for the first time

ICC appoints Women Umpires for the first time: The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the appointment of female umpires who will officiate during the Women’s World Twenty20 qualifiers for the first time.

Only male umpires have officiated in women’s international cricket so far. This move is an attempt to further the development of women’s cricket on an international level and it has been revealed that four female officials will be featured in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 qualifiers that will be held from 28th November to 5th December 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Kathleen Cross was added to the ICC Associate and Affiliate panel of umpires in 2014 and became the first woman to be named in an ICC umpires’ panel. Jacqueline Williams from the West Indies, Sue Redfern from England and Claire Polosak from Australia will join her for the qualifiers as said by the ICC at the press release.

There are eight teams- Bangladesh, China, Ireland, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Thailand and Zimbabwe that will fight out for the two available spots in the ICC World Twenty20 in India, which will be staged alongside the men’s event from March 11 to April 3, 2016.

The trailblazing quartet’s selection is a positive step forward, and also reasserts the ICC’s commitment to, the development of the women’s game, said the ICC.”It is hoped that these appointments will also inspire more women to become involved in officiating and participating in the game.”

Clare Connor, the former England captain and Chair of the ICC Women’s Committee, hailed the decision. “To have four female umpires appointed for the forthcoming ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier in Thailand is a great step forward for the ICC’s overarching strategy with Members to increase the representation of women across all aspects of the game,” said Connor.

“Huge strides have been taken with regards to the playing profile of women’s cricket in recent times, and it is just as important that this momentum is carried into every facet of the sport, including areas such as coaching and officiating.

“To do this, collectively we need to make sure that we are proactively supporting and developing female officials across the world by giving them appropriate opportunities to officiate at the highest level.”