Jeff Crowe appointed match refree for India-West Indies series

Dubai, Apr 26 (UNI) Jeff Crowe will be the match refree during India's tour of West Indies, while Elite panel umpires Rudi Koertzen, Simon Taufel and Asad Rauf will stand alongwith officials chosen by the host cricket board in the five ODIs and four Tests between the two sides starting May 18.

The ODIs will take place first with Pakistan's Rauf, recently elevated to the Emirates Elite Panel of umpires, standing in the first three matches to be replaced by Umpire of the Year Australian Simon Taufel in the last two games of the series, an ICC release said here.

Taufel and Rauf will then stand together in the first two Tests of the series, in Antigua and St Kitts on June 2 and 10 respectively before the South African duo of Rudi Koertzen and Emirates International Panel official Brian Jerling take over from them.

The appointments announced by the ICC also cover the seven-match ODI series between the West Indies and Zimbabwe starting April 29 and the three-Test series between England and Sri Lanka that begins on May 11.

Former England batsman Chris Broad from the Emirates Elite Panel of match referees will officiate in the West Indies-Zimbabwe ODI series while colleague Alan Hurst will officiate in the England-Sri Lanka Test series.

Koertzen, who recently completed his 150 ODIs as umpire, will stand in the first Test at Lord's on May 11 and the last match at Trent Bridge set to get underway on June 2 ahead of his trip to the Caribbean.

He will be joined in both matches by Aleem Dar of Pakistan, officiating alongside him at Lord's, and Australian Darrell Hair standing at Trent Bridge.

Dar and Hair will stand together for the second Test of the series at Edgbaston starting on May 25.

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