Richard Illingworth of England has been named by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as Umpire of the Year 2024. Richard Illingworth was the on-field umpire for India’s final ICC T20 World Cup 2024 match against South Africa on June 29 at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Illingworth began his umpiring career in 2005, initially in women’s cricket before transitioning to men’s cricket in 2010. He has been a member of the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires since 2013 and has officiated at ICC events including the ODI World Cup, Champions Trophy, T20 World Cup, and World Test Championship Final.
Richard Illingworth named as ICC umpire of the year for 2024
The International Cricket Council announced Richard Illingworth as the ICC Umpire of the Year for the third consecutive year on its X (previously known as Twitter) account. The 61-year-old was a former international cricketer who represented England in the 1992 World Cup.
Congratulations to Richard Illingworth on being named the 2024 ICC Umpire of the Year 🌟 pic.twitter.com/EPG8ffDaUf
— ICC (@ICC) January 26, 2025
Illingworth was elected the ICC Umpire of the Year in both 2019 and 2023. He has officiated in numerous high-profile matches, including the 2019 World Cup semi-final between India and New Zealand and India’s 2023 World Cup final against Australia. He also won the David Shepherd Trophy in 2019.
Richard Illingworth Played Nine Tests and 25 ODIs for England
Son of one of England’s best captains, Ray Illingworth, Richard Illingworth, a left-arm spinner, represented England in nine Tests and 25 One-Day Internationals. He also had an impressive batting record in domestic cricket.
Throughout his career, he played 376 first-class matches, claiming 831 wickets at a respectable average of 31.54 and scoring 7027 runs in 435 innings at an average of 22.45.
The left-arm spinner took 19 wickets in Tests and 30 wickets in ODIs. He last represented England in an ODI against Sri Lanka in 1996. Illingworth played four World Cup matches in 1996 before retiring from international cricket.
Also, Richard Illingworth is one of the two cricketers to have played in an ODI World Cup final and officiated in an ODI World Cup final as well. In the 1992 World Cup, Illingworth was part of the England team that reached the final against Pakistan. he officiated in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 final.
The other player to do so is Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena, who played in the 1996 World Cup final in Lahore and won the title. He also stood in the final of the 2019 World Cup at Lord’s.
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