Enough about players and teams; let us take a look at the top umpires who have officiated the most BGT games
Having won the first game with a record margin of 295 runs, India gears up for the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) at the Adelaide Oval. This time, Rohit Sharma will take charge of the team from vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah, who was the stand-in captain in the first game. Sharma missed the first due to the birth of his child.
Now, these details are mentioned in almost every article on the internet, and more have been written about players, their statistics, or the venue. Therefore, we take a look at a bunch of equally important people without whom the match cannot take place—the umpires.
For the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, these are the umpires who have been selected to officiate the matches -- RanjanMadugalle, Richard Kettleborough, Chris Gaffaney, Sam Nogajski, Phil Gillespie, Donovan Koch, Andy Pycroft, Joel Wilson, Michael Gough, and Saikat.
When it comes to umpires with the most BGT appearances, only one name from the above group features in the top lot—a name that we Indian cricket fans certainly do not like.
Before we draft about that umpire, let us look at those with the most BGT appearances under their belts.
With one hundred four matches officiated in Tests and 259 in ODIs, Brent "Billy" Bowden has to be our favourite umpire who made our childhood memorable. On the field, things were always tense between two sides, but Bowden, with his embellished signals, added a bit of fun on the pitch. It is often said the best umpires go unnoticed, but Bowden said no and went on to put on some wacky show on the field. Between 2003 and 2010, he officiated 10 BGT matches and sits at the top.
Nicknamed Gunner, Ian James Gould led Sussex to the 1986 NatWest Trophy as their captain. Known for his wicket-keeping skill, John Woodcock once said, "He was a cricketer who had been turned into a wicketkeeper." With 99 Test matches and 188 ODIs under his belt as an umpire, Gould's international umpiring career spanned nearly 13 years. Gould is the second umpire after Bowden to officiate 10 BGT games.
Hailing from PAK, Aleem Dar umpired for the first time at the age of 32 but was quickly promoted to the ICC panel. His sound decision in tough matches earned him a massive fan following. Even though Dar never showed much emotion on the pitch, his wavy gesture to signal fours and his nod before giving a batsman an out became iconic. Dar has umpired eight BGT games in his career, and this space is shared with Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus.
Well, well, well, look who we have here—the iconic Richard Allan Kettleborough, whom we, the Indian cricket fans, certainly do not hold very closely in our hearts. After all, in several matches where India was on the verge of winning a trophy, some of Kettleborough's decisions thwarted India's chances. Even when his decisions were not responsible, his presence turned out to be a curse for India. Fortunately, in the first game at Perth, India managed to win, but it has yet to secure a place in the WTC final.
Richard Kettleborough and India in a knockout match. pic.twitter.com/PiUcOiXdeF
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 19, 2023
So far, Kettleborough has also officiated eight BGT matches, but he is scheduled to officiate the second and third Tests. Once he does, he will match Bowden's record.
After Kettleborough, Rudolf Eric Koertzen and David Robert Shepherd have officiated seven games each, whereas the rest of the list has four or fewer matches.
