June 16, 2017
LONDON: South Africa´s Marais Erasmus and England´s Richard Kettleborough will be the on-field umpires for the Champions Trophy final between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced Friday.
Both officials are known for their calm demeanour, a quality that could come in useful with a capacity and raucous crowd expected at The Oval in south London on Sunday when India and Pakistan meet in the latest edition of international cricket´s most high-profile clash.
Erasmus, a 53-year-old former Boland fast-medium bowler, will be standing in his 71st one-day international, having officiated during Pakistan´s eight-wicket semi-final win over tournament hosts England in Cardiff on Wednesday.
Sunday´s match will be the 44-year-old Kettleborough´s 72nd ODI as an umpire.
The former Yorkshire and Middlesex batsman was in the middle for Thursday´s second semi-final, when title-holders India beat Bangladesh by nine wickets at Edgbaston.
Australia´s Rod Tucker will be the television umpire on Sunday, with Sri Lanka´s Kumar Dharmasena the reserve official.
Both Tucker and Dharmasena stood in each of the semi-finals.
David Boon, the former Australia batsman, will be the match referee for the final, which marks the conclusion of a tournament featuring the world´s top eight ODI sides.
Unlike four years ago, when India won the title by beating England in an Edgbaston match reduced to 20 overs per side by rain, a reserve day for the final has been scheduled in the event of bad weather.
India began their title defence with a 124-run thrashing of Pakistan at Edgbaston on June 4.
Jun 18: Champions Trophy final, The Oval (0930 GMT start)
Umpires: Marais Erasmus (RSA), Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
TV umpire: Rod Tucker (AUS)
Match referee: David Boon (AUS)
Reserve umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)
