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Major League Cricket (MLC) on Thursday announced the panel of 11 match officials for America’s first professional franchise cricket league to be launched on July 13, 2023. Nine umpires and two match referees will make up an experienced group of officials for the 19. Matches are scheduled to take place at two cricket-specific venues in North Texas (Grand Prairie Stadium, Grand Prairie, Texas) and North Carolina (Church Street Park, Morrisville, NC) leading up to the championship match on Sunday, July 30.
The group includes three umpires who currently serve on the ICC International Panel of Umpires: Wayne Knights, Paul Wilson and Ruchira Palliyaguru. Four US-based umpires – Jermaine Lindo, Rushen Samuels, Vijaya Prakash Mallela and Billy Taylor – are the remaining members of the group, with Lindo and Mallela both currently serving on the International Panel of ICC Development Umpires.
Taylor, who recently relocated to the United States from his native England, has served on the English Cricket Board’s full umpire list. The official match team is led by five-time ICC Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel, who will act as match referee alongside Ryan King, who currently serves on the International Panel of ICC Match Referees. Completing the crew, Owen Brown and Colin Edwards will act as fourth umpires throughout the tournament.
“The umpiring team is an important component of the game and we are delighted to welcome an experienced group that includes some of the best officials in the world,” said Justin Gilley, tournament director for Major League Cricket.
“Our league will provide a platform for domestic umpires to officiate at a high level of competition watched by a global audience. We are really delighted that two umpires who have excelled in minor league cricket over the past two seasons will also be a part of it. The playing control team is performing the duties of the fourth umpire.” Simon Taufel said, “The cricket world will be watching this historic event and the “Seventh Team” at MLC – our group of match officials – is focused on delivering at the highest standard with a quality mix of international and home-based umpires.”
“I look forward to bringing my experience to this event and assisting in the development of umpiring in the United States.”
The first MLC match will begin on Thursday, July 13 at 7:30pm CST under the lights at the 7,200-capacity Grand Prairie Stadium near Dallas, Texas, America’s new premier cricket venue. Fans can buy the remaining limited seats on Tickets.magorleaguecricket.com.
