The officials for the semi-finals and final will be announced in due course of the tournament.
Amid the anticipation, the International Cricket Council on Friday (September 8) named 20 match officials for the league stage of the 50-over World Cup.
The officials for the semi-finals and final will be announced in due course of the tournament.
The list includes 16 umpires and four match referees. Of these, 12 belong to the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and they are Christopher Gaffaney (New Zealand), Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka), Marais Erasmus (South Africa), Michael Gough (England), Nitin Menon (India), Paul Reiffel (Australia), Richard Illingworth (England), Richard Kettleborough (England), Rodney Tucker (Australia), Joel Wilson (West Indies), Ahsan Raza (Pakistan), and Adrian Holdstock (South Africa).
The remaining four belong to the ICC Emerging Umpire Panel, featuring Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid (Bangladesh), Paul Wilson (Australia), Alex Wharf (England) and Chris Brown (New Zealand).
On the other hand, the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees for the showpiece event are Jeff Crowe (New Zealand), Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe), Richie Richardson (West Indies) and Javagal Srinath (India).
Defending champions England will face New Zealand in the tournament opener on October 5 and ICC also named official for that game.
Menon and Dharmasena will be the on-field umpires while Paul Wilson will be the TV umpire with Sharfuddoula being the fourth umpire. Pycroft will play the role of a match referee.
“We are pleased to announce the match officials who will be officiating at the biggest ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup ever,” Sean Easey, ICC Senior Manager – Umpires and Referees said in a statement.
“This group is the very best from around the world and we believe that they are ready to perform what will be a challenging job with the eyes of the global cricketing community focussed on every decision.
“We are confident that they will do an excellent job and wish them all the best of luck for what will surely be a World Cup to remember.”
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shaid, Rod Tucker, Alex Wharf, Joel Wilson, Chris Brown, and Paul Wilson.
Match Referees: Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Richie Richardson and Javagal Srinath
(With ICC Inputs)