ICC announces match officials for WTC final between India and Australia
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced match officials for the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia. The summit clash is scheduled to be played at the Oval in London, starting June 7.
England’s Richard Illingworth and Chris Gaffaney of New Zealand will be the on-field umpires for the marquee ICC event. The duo are members of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Umpires. While Illingworth will be officiating his 64th Test, Gaffaney will stand in his 49th Test.
In addition, Richard Kettleborough of England has been appointed the third/TV umpire. Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena will serve as the fourth umpire.
Meanwhile, West Indies’ Richie Richardson will act as the match referee. He previously served in the aforementioned post during the 2021 WTC final, where New Zealand beat India by eight wickets to lift the Test mace.
The match officials’ list for the ICC World Test Championship 2023 Final is out 👇
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The WTC final is slated to take place from June 7 to 11, with June 12 kept as the reserve day.
ICC abolishes soft-signal rule ahead of WTC final
The ICC recently abolished the soft signal rule for contentious catches as its revised playing conditions, which come into effect from June 1. The on-field umpires will no longer be required to give any soft signal. The TV umpire will make the final decision.
In an official statement, the ICC stated:
"Umpires will no longer be required to give a soft signal while referring decisions to the TV umpires. The on-field umpires will consult with the TV umpire before any decisions are taken."
The soft signal rule was first scrapped by the IPL in 2021, but it continued in international cricket, which often led to controversies.
Sourav Ganguly, Chairman of the ICC Men's Cricket Committee, said that soft signals were unnecessary and only created confusion. He was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au:
"The committee deliberated this at length and concluded that soft signals were unnecessary and at times confusing since referrals of catches may seem inconclusive in replays.”
ICC Men’s Cricket Committee led by Sourav Ganguly make major changes in 'Playing Conditions' involving the soft signal being scrapped, with umpires no longer required to give a soft signal when referring decisions to the TV umpire.
Meanwhile, the ICC has made it mandatory for players in “high-risk” positions, like silly mid-on, mid-off, and wicketkeepers standing up to the stumps, to wear helmets.
Squads for WTC final 2023
Australia: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vice-captain), Mitchell Starc, David Warner
India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).
Standby players: Yashashvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav.