dyton mupawaenda
Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter
FORMER Zimbabwe national cricket team player Forster Mutizwa’s stock continues to rise af-ter he was appointed among the referees and umpires for the upcoming ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa.
Mutizwa and compatriot Langton Rusere are the two Zimbabweans among an experienced roster of 16 umpires and four match referees selected to officiate the competition.
The match officials will oversee a total of 41 matches that will feature the best young cricketers on the planet. The Zimbabwe Under-19 team is also featuring in the competition, which runs from January 19 to February 11 in South Africa.
Mutizwa and Rusere will begin their participation in the official warm-up matches starting this Saturday, and running up to next Wednesday, before taking up slots in the group games that are scheduled to start on January 19.
The other umpires include Bismillah Jan Shinwari of Afghanistan, Donovan Koch, Phil Gilles-pie, Gazi Sohel, Masudur Rahman Mukul, Mike Burns, K.N.A. Padmanabhan, Roland Black, Faisal Khan Afridi, Rashid Riaz Waqar, Allahudien Palekar, Bongani Jele, Patrick Gustard and Nigel Duguid.
The four referees are Graeme Labrooy, Shaid Wadvalla, Narayanan Kutty and Wayne Noon. ICC Manager — Umpires and Referees, Sean Easey said the Under-19 event was as important for the development of the players as it is for the up-skilling of umpires.
“The Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup is a very important event in the ICC calendar,” he said.
“Similarly, it is an important development event for the umpire pathway also. A diverse and motivated team of international match officials has been appointed, and I am confident that they will do an excellent job. I wish them the very best of luck across their time in South Africa.”
Unlike Rusere, who now boasts of considerable experience in international competitions, Mutizwa, who retired from playing the game four years ago to cross over to the other side of umpiring, is one of Zimbabwe’s upcoming umpires. He is now on the ICC Panel of Umpires.
This is not the first time to officiate at big tournaments though for Mutizwa, who together with Rusere, and Iknow Chabi, were involved in the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier B held in Zimbabwe.
He was also among the officials at last November’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Region Qualifier held in Namibia.
Mutizwa will be directly involved in six group stage games at the upcoming Under-19 World Cup and could also get more opportunities in the later stages, whose appointments will be announced in due course.
After his engagement as fourth umpire in the match between Pakistan and Afghanistan on January 20, Mutizwa will stand as on field umpire with another former player, Phil Gillespie of Australia, in the match between New Zealand and Nepal at the Buffalo Park in East London, the next day.
This will be followed by another appointment as onfield umpire for the match between New Zealand and Afghanistan on January 23. He will be the TV umpire in the match between Nepal and Pakistan before returning to the middle when Afghanistan face Nepal on January 26.
Mutizwa broke new ground by becoming the first former Zimbabwe international to stand in an international match when he made his debut as an on-field umpire in the second T20I between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh at Harare Sports Club in June 2021.
Match Officials at the ICC U19 Men’s
Cricket World Cup 2024
Umpires: Bismillah Jan Shinwari, Donovan Koch, Phil Gillespie, Gazi Sohel, Masudur Rahman Mukul, Mike Burns, K.N.A. Padmanabhan, Roland Black, Faisal Khan Afridi, Rashid Riaz Waqar, Allahudien Palekar, Bongani Jele, Patrick Gustard, Nigel Duguid, Langton Rusere, Forster Mutizwa
Match Referees: Graeme Labrooy, Shaid Wadvalla, Narayanan Kutty, Wayne Noon
Online Reporter