ICC expands elite panel of refs

The International Cricket Council announced on Thursday that the Emirates Elite Panel of Referees would be expanded to eight, after adding four former international players to the Panel,  and former Pakistan player Wasim Raja would not be offered a new contract.

Added to the Panel are former Australian fast bowler Alan Hurst, former England batsmen Chris Broad, former New Zealand captain Jeff Crowe and former Sri Lanka batsman Roshan Mahanama.

They join Chief Referee and former Sri Lanka captain Ranjan Madugalle, former India captain Gundappa Vishwanath, former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd and South Africa great Mike Procter on the panel.

ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said the Match Referee is a critical element of the ICC's focus on ensuring that the game is played in the right spirit.

"The ICC Match Referee plays a critical role in ensuring that international cricket is played both within the rules and within the spirit of the game," said Speed.

"Expanding the Panel to eight gives us a deeper pool of former international players with a strong feel for the game who will be able to apply their knowledge when making judgments about on-field events.

"Moving to eight referees also provides the ICC with the flexibility needed to meet the international schedule over the coming 12 months."

New Panel member Roshan Mahanama said he is delighted to be appointed to the panel.

"Obviously I am delighted to be part of the Emirates Elite Panel of Referees. The ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup has been my first appointment as an ICC referee and I have really enjoyed the role," said Mahanama.

"It will be good to continue to have an active role in international cricket and this is something that I am very much looking forward to," he added.

Speed also said the quality of applicants for the roles provided the ICC with a strong field from which to pick the final panel.

"It was very pleasing to speak to a number of very well qualified applicants for these positions from around the cricketing world. In the end we had many more applicants than positions available and for the ICC this is a strong position to be in," said Speed.

"Unfortunately, for some people the strength of the field meant that they missed out on contracts on this occasion.

"Despite the individual disappointment, it means that the ICC has been able to pick the best available candidates to take on this critical role for international cricket."

The new appointments will take effect from April l, 2004 in keeping with all contracts for the Emirates Elite Panel of Umpires and Referees.

Biographies of new panel members and playing statistics courtesy of cricinfo.com

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