Match officials named for Indo-Pak series

Umpires Darrell Hair and Rudi Koertzen will stand in the first Test between India and Pakistan the International Cricket Council said on Tuesday.

Umpires Darrell Hair and Rudi Koertzen will stand in the first Test between India and Pakistan as the International Cricket Council on Tuesday named the match officials for the upcoming Test and one-day series between the arch-rivals.

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Hair will officiate with Steve Bucknor in the second Test at Kolkata where the West Indian would reach a landmark by becoming the first umpire to stand in 100 Tests.

Simon Taufel and Billy Bowden will be the umpires in the third and final Test, ICC said in a release adding Chris Broad would be the match referee for the series.

Bowden will be the umpire in the first three One-Day Internationals between the two sides while Koertzen will take this role in the final three limited over matches.

By reaching a century of Test appearances, Bucknor will become the first recipient of the ICC Golden Bails award, part of the ICC's umpire recognition programme which also includes the Bronze Bails Award (for 100 ODI appearances) and Silver Bails Award (for 200 ODIs).

Incidentally, Bucknor's first Test match in the middle also came in the match involving India — between West Indies and India in Kingston, Jamaica in April 1989.

He has officiated in four consecutive ICC cricket World Cup finals.