10 Best Cricket Umpires – Types, Records & Elite Panel

Umpires in cricket are a vital cog in the game, probably it cannot be described in words how important the role of umpiring is in cricket.

The cricket umpires are involved in each and every moment of the game, and their decisions influence the result of the match to a huge extent.

4 Types of Cricket Umpires – Explained

1 Straight Umpire (standing at bowler’s end)

2 Square Leg Umpire

3 Third Umpire

4 Fourth Umpire

Both the straight umpire and the square leg umpire are called ‘on-field umpires’ because they are seen right on the ground.

1 Straight Umpire

It is the umpire at the bowler’s end and the one who makes 90% of the signals like signaling out, not out, six, four, wide, no ball, leg byes, review, etc.

2 Square Leg Umpire

It is the umpire who is seen parallelly straight behind the batsman on strike. The primary role of the square leg umpire is to check the waist-high full-toss ball, above shoulder or above head high wide ball, and touch and go catches around him.

The straight umpire and the square leg umpire interchange their positions between them depending on the end in which they have decided to umpire mutually.

3 Third Umpire

The third umpire is the video assistant umpire who is not seen on the field. The task of the third umpire includes checking runouts and catch-outs when referred/ signaled by the on-field umpires, when a review is taken by the players, and also front foot no balls these days. The third umpire, thus with the help of technology, helps or assists the on-field umpires.

4 Fourth Umpire

The fourth umpire is the reserved umpire, meaning if an umpire falls ill or gets injured during the game, then the fourth umpire will replace him. The fourth umpire also plays a few meticulous roles like looking at the pitch conditions, keeping the collection of the balls that are/ can be used for the game, bringing drinks for the on-field umpires, and so on.

These are the four types of umpires in cricket, which are seen in any match and hence there are two on-field umpires in cricket and two off-field umpires in cricket.

Apart from the four umpires in cricket, there is also a match referee who makes sure that all the rules and regulations of the game are being properly followed during the match and also that the game is played in a fair way with the proper code of conduct.

Following are the lists of most matches as cricket umpires in Test, ODI & T20 International:

1 Most matches as umpire in Test Cricket

Sl. No.UmpireCountrySpanTotal Matches
1Aleem DarPakistan2003 – Present139
2Steve BucknorWest Indies1989 – 2009128
3Rudi KoertzenSouth Africa1992 – 2010108
4Daryl HarperAustralia1998 – 201195
5David ShepherdEngland1985 – 200592
6Billy BowdenNew Zealand2000 – 201584
7Darrell HairAustralia1992 – 200878
8Rod TuckerAustralia2010 – Present76
9Ian GouldEngland2008 – 201974
10Richard KettlebouroughEngland2010 – Present74

2 Most matches as an Umpire in ODI Cricket

Sl. No.UmpireCountrySpanTotal Matches
1Aleem DarPakistan2000 – Present216
2Rudi KoertzenSouth Africa1992 – 2010209
3Billy BowdenNew Zealand1995 – 2016200
4Steve BucknorWest Indies1989 – 2009181
5Daryl HarperAustralia1994 – 2011174
6Simon TaufelAustralia1999 – 2012174
7David ShepherdEngland1983 – 2005172
8Russell TiffinZimbabwe1992 – 2018154
9Ian GouldEngland2006 – 2019140
10Darrell HairAustralia1991 – 2008139

3 Most matches as An Umpire in T20I cricket

Sl. No.UmpireCountrySpanTotal Matches
1Aleem DarPakistan2009 – Present61
2Ahsan RazaPakistan2010 – Present60
3Buddhi PradhanNepal2012 – Present47
4Rod TuckerAustralia2009 – Present46
5Adrian HoldstockSouth Africa2011 – Present44
6Shaun GeorgeSouth Africa2010 – 202142
7Chris BrownNew Zealand2017 – 202140
8Joel WilsonWest Indies2012 – Present39
9Gregory BrathwaiteWest Indies2011 – 202138
10SharfuddoulaBangladesh2006 – 201638

4 Most Matches as an Umpire in international Cricket (In All 3 Formats)

Sl. No.UmpireCountrySpanTotal Matches
1Aleem DarPakistan2000 – Present416
2Rudi KoertzenSouth Africa1992 – 2010331
3Steve BucknorWest Indies1989 – 2009309
4Billy BowdenNew Zealand1995 – 2016308
5Simon TaufelAustralia1999 – 2012282
6Daryl HarperAustralia1994 – 2011279
7David ShepherdEngland1983 – 2005264
8Ian GouldEngland2006 – 2019251
9Kumar DharmasenaSri Lanka2009 – Present225
10Nigel LlongEngland2005 – 2020224

Umpiring in cricket is a very hectic job as everything happens in a flash and to take a correct decision on spot within seconds amidst thousands of people and given the power their decisions hold in a match, it requires tremendous skills, confidence and self belief and for this credit should go to all the umpires in cricket.

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