Great Umpires of old and new era

In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make decisions about events on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket. Besides making decisions about legality of delivery, appeals for wickets and general conduct of the game in a legal manner, the umpire also keeps a record of the deliveries and announces the completion of an over. It is a tough job. They need to stand in a position for the entire day. Some of the best umpires are:

Simon Taufel

Taufel stood in his first One Day International (ODI) on 13 January 1999 in the match between Australia and Sri Lanka at Sydney when he was 27 years old. He umpired his first Test match in December 2000 – the Boxing Day Test between Australia and West Indies at Melbourne. He became a member of the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires in 2002. He was chosen to umpire at the 2003 Cricket World Cup.   Famously, he bagged five consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards between 2004 and 2008 for which people started considering him as one of cricket’s finest umpires. 

Aleem Dar

 

He made his international umpiring debut in an ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Gujranwala on 16 February 2000. In 2002 he became a member of ICC's International Panel of umpires. He was chosen to umpire at the ICC Cricket World Cup in early 2003. He was appointed to stand in his first Test match in October 2003; the match between Bangladesh and England at Dhaka. Over the next six months he was appointed to stand in several more Test matches, and as a neutral umpire in ODI matches away from Pakistan.  At present, he is cricket’s most successful umpire. He won three consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards in 2009, 2010 and 2011. He had a brilliant World Cup 2011 as he gave 15 consecutive correct decisions that won a battle against DRS challenge

Billy Bowden

In March 1995, he officiated his first One Day International between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at Hamilton. In March 2000 he was appointed his first Test match as an on-field umpire. Billy Bowden was drafted into the ICC Elite Umpires Panel in the year 2003. Billy is best known for the unique and bizarre umpiring signals that he undertakes, especially the dance jig that precedes his SIX” signal and his crooked index finger to adjudge a batsman out.

Dickie Bird

 

He stood in his first county game in 1970. Three years later, he officiated at his first Test match, England v New Zealand at Headingley in Leeds. In a 23-year-old career, Bird gained immense appreciation from all quarters and was given a 'guard of honor' by the Indian and England teams as he went out for one last time at Lord's in 1996. Bird was awarded with the Member of the Order of British Empire (MBE) in 1986 and the Officer of the Order of British Empire (OBE) in 2012.

Steve Bucknor

Bucknor's first international cricket fixture was a One Day International (ODI) between the West Indies and India at Antigua on 18 March 1989. His first Test match was at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, between 28 April and 3 May 1989, with the competing teams again being the West Indies and India. He comes with 181 ODIs under his belt and an exceptional amount of 128 test matches. He was given the Order of Jamaica, Commander Class, in sports” for “superb services. This well-known umpire declared his retirement in 2009.