T20 World Cup 2024: ICC names match officials for Semifinals

Four teams—South Africa, Afghanistan, England, and India—have survived more than three weeks of intense competition to remain in the running for the ninth T20 World Cup 2024. The names of the match officials overseeing the two semifinals on Thursday were released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday, June 25.

South Africa will play Afghanistan, who are making their first semifinal appearance, at Tarouba, Trinidad’s Brian Lara Stadium. In the Super Eight stage, the Proteas emerged victorious from Group 2 and advanced to the semifinals. They triumphed in all three of their encounters with the West Indies, England, and USA.

The team led by Aiden Markram is the favourite because they have won seven straight games in the major event. Nonetheless, Afghanistan has demonstrated throughout the competition that they are capable of defeating more seasoned teams in world cricket. To get to the semifinals, they overcame Bangladesh and Australia.

Richard Illingworth and Nitin Menon will serve as the on-field umpires for this exciting match between South Africa and Afghanistan. Richard Kettleborough will serve as the TV umpire, and Ahsan Raza will serve as the Fourth Umpire. The match referee will be none other than Richie Richardson, a former cricket player for the West Indies.

Who is going to officiate the India vs. England match?

At Providence Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana, India and England are slated to square off. Thus far in the competition, the Men in Blue have emerged victorious in six of their matches, with one ending in a draw. In the Super Eights, Rohit Sharma’s team advanced to the semifinals by defeating Australia, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

England lost to the Proteas in the Super Eight stage, but Jos Buttler and company were able to secure their place in the last four with convincing victories over the West Indies and the USA.

For the second consecutive T20 World Cup semifinal match, India and England will square off between Chris Gaffaney and Rodney Tucker in the middle. The fourth umpire will be Paul Reiffel, with Joel Wilson serving as the TV umpire. This tantalising encounter will be officiated by Jeffrey Crowe.