Cricket Australia on Friday announced its Umpire Panels for the 2020-21 cricket season.
The four-member International Panel remains unchanged from 2019-20 season.
The International Umpire Panel (nominated to ICC as umpires for Men's International matches) consists of Gerard Abood, Shawn Craig, Sam Nogajski, and Paul Wilson.
For the National Umpire Panel, Cricket Australia has picked Gerard Abood, Darren Close, Shawn Craig, Greg Davidson, Phil Gillespie, Mike Graham-Smith, Donovan Koch, Sam Nogajski, Tony Wilds and Paul Wilson.
Close has been elevated to the National Umpire Panel, completing his comeback to the top tier of officiating. After debuting as a First Class umpire in 1987 aged 18, Close stood in 20 First Class and two List A matches before leaving the game in 1992.
After a 27-yer absence, he returned to the First Class arena last summer and has been rewarded with a position on the National panel.
In the Supplementary Umpire Panel, Nathan Johnstone, Simon Lightbody, Troy Penman, Claire Polosak, David Taylor, and Ben Treloar are there.
Taylor has filled the vacancy created by Close in the Supplementary Umpire Panel.
Cricket Australia also acknowledged the contribution of Geoff Joshua, whose contract has not been renewed. He stood in 171 domestic matches and 17 Women's internationals across all formats over the past decade.
The changes, plus the retirements of Simon Fry and John Ward, mean the National Umpire Panel has been reduced from 12 members to 10 for season 2020-21.
Cricket Australia Head of Cricket Operations Peter Roach congratulated al the umpires and thanked Joshua for his service.
"We'd like to congratulate all 16 umpires named in the National and Supplementary Umpire Panels for the 2020-21 season. We also thank Geoff Joshua for his service throughout his time on the Umpire Panel, in addition to the retiring Simon Fry and John Ward," Roach said in a statement.
( With inputs from ANI )
