The ongoing, inaugural edition of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Under-19 World Cup 2020 (T20) is well into its business conclusion and with several knockouts on the schedule for the January 27 U-19 action, the ICC has named official match appointments for the semi-finals, the names of the officials for the knockout.
After a fascinating set of games so far, the tournament will witness the clash of 4 of the best teams in a knockout that is now just a sleep away. With a hung points table in Group 1 with India, Australia, Bangladesh and South Africa finishing with 6 points each, table toppers India and Australia with the best net run rates (NRR) made it to the knockouts.
From Group 2, the two unbeaten teams in the tournament, England and New Zealand, advanced to the knockout stages with 8 points each, having finished better than Pakistan (4) and Rwanda (2) from their group. While the first of the 2 semi-finals will have India and New Zealand play for a place in the final, there will be a game-in-a-game as an Ashes scenario unfolds with England and Australia set to lock horns for the semi-final of 2nd. .
The match officials for the India vs New Zealand match starting at 13:30 Indian Standard Time (IST) see Neeyamur Rahul as the match referee, Sarah Bartlett and Lisa McCabe as the female on-field umpire pair, Jasmine Naeem as the TV referee and Maria Abbott as fourth referee.
U19 Women’s World Cup Semi-Final 🇮🇳 vs🇳🇿
In their Super Six stages, India won one and lost the other, while New Zealand registered 2 wins out of 2.
Who will continue to the final?🤔#CricketTwitter #U19T20 World Cup pic.twitter.com/rXpbWt5rut
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 26, 2023
Former England all-rounder Sarah Bartlett has managed a couple of Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and refereed as many as 29 domestic matches in England, either in the Vitality Women’s T20 Cup, the Women’s Hundred or the Charlotte Edwards Cup. . Her fielding partner, Australia’s Lisa McCabe, who joined the umpire in 2016, has vast experience and has featured in many tournaments, including the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL), the first-class match for men, women’s under 18 national championships, Australia. A vs England Lions and many more.
England’s Jasmine Naeem, wife of Naeem Ashraf, who is also a referee, has refereed locally and regionally throughout Lancashire and Greater Manchester for the past decade. She has also refereed matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and internationally a T20 and Women’s Test between England and South Africa. Vincentian Maria Abbott, the 4th referee, has been in the business for over 20 years and had called her recent presentation in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (W-CPL) the highest level she has reached .
The second semi-final between England and Australia is scheduled to start at 5:30 PM IST. The game will see Owen Chirombe as the match referee, and the female duo of Candace la Borde and Sarah Dambanevana as on-field referees, while Dedunu de Silva and Kerrin Kaaste will fill in as the TV and fourth referees respectively.
Candace la Borde created history by becoming the first woman from Trinidad and Tobago to sit out an ICC Cricket World Cup, she has officiated throughout the competition and also recently officiated in the Trinidad Dream XI T10 Blast. Her court partner, Sarah Dambanevana of Zimbabwe, has also refereed matches throughout the tournament and the former player-turned-Arabian also has experience in the domestic women’s tournament.
Sri Lanka’s 44-year-old Dedunu de Silva is a former international player turned umpire who has umpired 8 T20Is and also featured in the most recent edition of the Women’s Asia Cup. 24-year-old South African Kerrin Klaaste recently passed the national written exam and qualified to umpire international cricket matches, and was seen refereeing games throughout the tournament.
