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Brandon Moyo
FORMER Zimbabwe international cricketer turned umpire, Foster Mutizwa and renowned umpire Langton Rusere have been named as some of the umpires for the upcoming 2024 International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup starting next week in South Africa.
The duo of Mutizwa and Rusere are the only Zimbabwean umpires who will be officiating at the global showpiece which gets underway from 19 January to February 11 on the South of the Limpopo River.
The two are part of an experienced group of 16 umpires and four match referees that have been selected to officiate the competition, overseeing a total of 41 matches that will feature the best young cricketers on the planet.
Rusere’s first match will be on January 20 in a fixture between defending champions India and 2020 runners-up Bangladesh in Bloemfontein. Rusere will be the fourth umpire while Australia’s Donovan Koch and West Indies’ Nigel Duguid will take charge on-field, and South African duo Allahudien Palekar as TV umpire, and Shaid Wadvalla as match referee.
Mutizwa’s first assignment will be the first East London fixture which will be pitting Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mutizwa, will be the TV umpire while Australia’s Phil Gillespie will be the fourth umpire.
ICC Manager for umpires and referees, Sean Easey said the tournament is important for the next generation of cricketers to create a name for themselves and will be equally important for umpires in the same vein. He wished them all the best in the tournament, adding that he is confident they will do a good job.
“The U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup is a very important event in the ICC calendar. It has long been considered a platform for future stars of the sport to make a name for themselves and for many of the participating players in this year’s edition; it is their first taste of competing on the world stage.”
“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,” said Easey.
Mutizwa stood in his first international match in July 2021 in a T20I between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh at Harare Sports Club while Rusere has been in the international set-up for close to a decade, having first stood in 2015 for a T20 match between Zimbabwe and India in Harare.
Rusere was part of the umpires in the historic New Year’s Test between South Africa and India at Newlands in Cape Town. India won the match in just under two days in what became the shortest-ever test match in history.
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