Hair makes a comeback at U-19 World Cup

ADELAIDE: Controversial Australian umpire Darrell Hair has been roped in to work with the match officials standing for the ICC under-19 World Cup that runs at three venues in Malaysia from February 17 to March 2.

Hair, taken off the ICC’s umpires panel in the wake of the forfeited Oval Test between Pakistan and England two years ago, will be involved with the accreditation and mentoring of development-level umpires.

Previously, Hair has stood in several development tournaments, including the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 and ICC Intercontinental Cup, while also assisting with the coaching of emerging umpires, the ICC said on Monday.

“In the same way that the U-19 CWC is a great opportunity for players to make their mark, it is also a chance for up-and-coming umpires to experience an international cricket event,” said ICC umpires manager Doug Cowie.

“It’s a chance for us to identify emerging talent and provide them with intensive individual mentoring and coaching over the course of the event and also give them direction for the future,” he said.

The tournament itself will be overseen by Javagal Srinath, Mike Procter and Chris Broad as ICC match referees. On-field umpiring will be split between appointments from the regular international panel and those from the ICC’s associate and affiliate nations.

Peter Hartley (Eng), Marais Erasmus (RSA), G.A. Prathap Kumar (Ind), Gary Baxter (NZ), Steve Davis (Aus), Enamul Hoque (Bang), Zameer Haider (Pak), Clyde Duncan (WI), Tyron Wijewardena (SL) and Ian Robinson (Zim) will stand with umpires from Singapore, Germany, Bermuda, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Namibia. The 16-team event includes sides from the 10 full members, Malaysia and five regional qualifiers, Namibia (Africa), PNG (East Asia-Pacific), Ireland (Europe), Nepal (Asia) and Bermuda (America).