ICC Announces Match Officials for World Test Championship Final

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed the selected match officials for the highly anticipated 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) final between South Africa and Australia.

The championship match is set to be held at Lord’s from June 11 to 15.

On-field Umpires

Chris Gaffaney from New Zealand and Richard Illingworth from England have been appointed as the on-field umpires for the final clash.

Richard Illingworth’s Record

Illingworth, a consistent presence in major Test matches, will be officiating his third WTC final, having also been an on-field umpire for the 2021 and 2023 finals. He currently holds the title of ICC Umpire of the Year, securing the David Shepherd Trophy for the fourth time in 2024.

Chris Gaffaney’s Previous Experience

Gaffaney has previously collaborated with Illingworth during last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final. He was also part of the umpiring staff during the WTC 2023 final between India and Australia.

Notably, Illingworth will achieve a milestone by becoming the first umpire to officiate on-field in all three World Test Championship finals to date.

TV Umpire

Richard Kettleborough of England, an experienced official in numerous ICC event finals, including the Men’s Cricket World Cup and the Champions Trophy, will serve as the TV umpire. He was also the TV umpire during the WTC 2021 final between India and New Zealand.

Fourth Umpire

Nitin Menon from India will be making his debut as the fourth umpire in a World Test Championship final. Previously, Menon was the TV umpire for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final in 2021.

Match Referee

The match referee for the final will be seasoned Indian official Javagal Srinath.

Statement from ICC Chair Jay Shah

ICC Chair Jay Shah commended the qualifications of the appointed officials and expressed confidence in their capabilities.

“We are pleased to announce a highly experienced team of match officials for the ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord’s. This event marks the culmination of an intensely competitive two-year cycle of Test matches played around the globe,” Shah stated.

“We aim to select the most qualified and deserving officials for all matches, and we trust they will perform excellently. On behalf of the ICC, I extend my best wishes to them and hope they relish this assignment,” he added.

Australia secured their place in the WTC 2023-25 final by winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India with a 3-1 series victory in the 2024-25 season.

South Africa reached the final for the first time after a dominant 2-0 series win over Pakistan.

Test Squads
Australia:

Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.

Travelling reserve: Brendan Doggett

South Africa:

Temba Bavuma (captain), Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Corbin Bosch, Kyle Verreynne, David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson.