Saikat and Illingworth to be on-field umpires in Men’s T20 World Cup opening match between USA and Canada

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Dubai, May 22 (IANS) Shahid Saikat and Richard Illingworth have been confirmed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to be on-field umpires in the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup opening match between USA and Canada on June 1.

Saikat will become the first Bangladeshi umpire to officiate at an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup when he stands in the USA-Canada tournament opener at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

Saikat, 47, took charge of five matches at last year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and has also been on the panel at two ICC Women’s Cricket World Cups and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2018.

He will be joined by Illingworth, who won the David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year for the third time in 2023 and took charge of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final between India and Australia in 2023. Richie Richardson will be the match referee in Dallas, with Sam Nogajski as the TV umpire and Langton Rusere in place as the fourth umpire.

Nogajski is one of five umpires making their senior men’s ICC tournament debut in June, with Rashid Riaz to make his first appearance in the second match of the tournament between Papua New Guinea and co-hosts West Indies in Guyana on June 2. That match will also mark a milestone for match referee Andy Pycroft, who will bring up his 150th T20I.

India umpire Jayaraman Madanagopal’s Men’s T20 World Cup debut will be later on June 2 when Namibia and Oman go head-to-head in Barbados. The first of Allahudien Paleker’s four on-field group games will be between the USA and Pakistan on June 6, while fellow debutant Asif Yaqoob will line up alongside Nitin Menon for England’s clash with Scotland on June 4.

Illingworth and Rodney Tucker will be the on-field umpires for the eagerly-awaited Group A clash between India and Pakistan in New York on June 9, with Chris Gaffaney as the TV Umpire. Chris Gaffaney and Alex Wharf will be on-field umpires in India’s opening match of the tournament against Ireland on June 5, with Kettleborough as the TV Umpire.

Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Richard Kettleborough and Joel Wilson are among the other experienced officials returning for more World Cup action, with the knockout stage appointments to be announced at a later date by the ICC.

The 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup will be held across six venues in the West Indies and three stadiums in USA. In the Caribbean, Kensington Oval in Barbados, Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad, Providence Stadium in Guyana, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia and Arnos Vale Stadium, St Vincent will be the hosts’.

In the USA, Nassau County Stadium in New York, Broward County in Lauderhill, Florida and Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas will be the venues. West Indies, the two-time winners of the Men’s T20 World Cup, will be hosting the ninth edition of the tournament after first playing hosts’ for the competition in 2010, while this is the first time the USA will be hosting an ICC tournament.

20 teams will be divided into four groups of five each for the first round. Top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super eight stage, where teams will be split into two groups of four each. Teams seeded first and second in their groups in the first round will retain that seeding in the Super Eight, provided they qualify.

A1, B2, C1 and D2 finishers will be in one group, while A2, B1, C2 and D1 will be slotted in the other group. Top two sides from two groups of the Super eight will advance for the semi-finals. The semi-finals will be held in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago on June 26 and 27 respectively, while the final will be held in Barbados on June 29.

--IANS

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