Dubai, Jan 10 :The International Cricket Council (ICC) Today  announced umpire and match referee for the ICC U-19 men’s cricket World Cup that takes off on Friday.

English umpire David Millns, who has been a first-class umpire for nearly 14 years and Nepal’s Buddhi Pradhan will oversee the opening match between hosts West Indies and Australia on January 14.

Millns’ compatriot Martin Saggers will be the TV umpire for the first of 48 games, with a 22-member team.

Asif Yaqoob, who was the third umpire in the 2020 edition in South Africa, will be the TV umpire for the Bangladesh-England match on January 16.

In all, 19 umpires from 14 different countries will be on the field with five also performing the role of TV umpire throughout the first stage of the tournament.

They will be joined by three match referees former Sri Lanka cricketer Graeme Labrooy and Denavon Hayles (West Indies), and Phil Whitticase (England).

ICC Senior Manager for Umpires and Referees, Adrian Griffith said: “We are committed to appointing the finest officials available and I have every confidence in the team travelling to West Indies for the U-19 Cricket World Cup they will do a fine job. I wish them all the best.”

As per ICC release, umpire and match referee appointments for the knockout stages will be announced after the teams have been confirmed.

The appointments for the Plate and Super League final will be finalised after the semi-finals.

For the first time in the tournament’s 14-edition history, 10 venues will be used across four nations, including Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago.

Umpires: Asif Yaqoob, Allan Haggo, Arnold Maddela, Buddhi Pradhan, David McLean, David Millns, Emmerson Carington, Heath Kearns, Jacquline Williams, Mark Jameson, Martin Saggers, Nitin Bathi, Rahul Asher, Rashid Riaz, Rizwan Akram, Roland Black, Sameer Bandekar, Sarika Prasad, Vijay Prakash Mallela

Match Referees: Graeme Labrooy, Denavon Hayles, Phil Whitticase.(UNI)