ICC Names All-Female Match Officials for Women's T20 WC 2026

The ICC has formally introduced that the ICC Girls’s T20 World Cup 2026 will likely be officiated by an all-female match official group from June 12 in England and Wales. There are 14 umpires and 4 match referees to cowl 33 fixtures in the course of the event. This would be the third straight Girls’s T20 World Cup to have a totally feminine umpiring panel, following the 2022 version.

The event opens at Edgbaston in Birmingham and has been billed as the largest girls’s sporting occasion on the earth. With an expanded format operating 33 matches, the demand for knowledgeable officers is increased than ever, and the ICC has responded with a panel that mixes confirmed names and contemporary faces.

4 Umpires to Make Their Girls’s T20 World Cup Debut

4 officers have been promoted to make their first look on the Girls’s T20 World Cup. Candace La Borde, Gayathri Venugopalan, Kerrin Klaaste, and Shathira Jakir Jesy will all step onto the worldwide stage at this degree for the primary time. All 4 had been a part of the officiating setup on the ICC Girls’s Cricket World Cup 2025. This gave them the publicity and evaluation required to earn these positions.

Their inclusion is a mirrored image of the rising depth of suitably certified feminine officers throughout world cricket. The ICC has constantly acknowledged that picks are primarily based on efficiency knowledge, decision-making information, and total conduct throughout bilateral collection and ICC occasions. These 4 officers met these requirements.

Claire Polosak Leads an Skilled Returning Group

Australian umpire Claire Polosak stands out as probably the most skilled official within the panel. This will likely be her sixth Girls’s T20 World Cup, having already officiated in 22 matches on the event. No different umpire comes near that document on this stage.

Jacquline Williams and Kim Cotton are additionally set to achieve a notable milestone. Each have stood in 19 matches on the Girls’s T20 World Cup and can attain 5 event appearances in England and Wales. 9 officers from the 2024 version of the event have returned for this yr’s occasion, offering continuity in officiating requirements.

On the match referee facet, Shandré Fritz, GS Lakshmi, and Michell Pereira return from the 2024 panel. New Zealand’s Trudy Anderson completes the group of 4 referees.

ICC Reaffirms Dedication to Girls’s Cricket Illustration

ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta spoke concerning the choice, saying the panel displays the governing physique’s dedication to increasing illustration throughout all areas of the game. He pointed to the excessive requirements proven in the course of the ICC Girls’s Cricket World Cup 2025 as a key think about these appointments and described the upcoming event as the largest girls’s sporting occasion on the earth.

The Girls’s T20 World Cup 2026 begins on June 12 at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Umpires

Lauren Agenbag, Kim Cotton, Anna Harris, Shathira Jakir Jesy, Kerrin Klaaste, Candace La Borde, Janani N, Nimali Perera, Claire Polosak, Vrinda Rathi, Suzanne Redfern, Eloise Sheridan, Jacquline Williams, Gayathri Venugopalan.