Former Worcestershire bowler Jack Shantry is one of five umpires added to the newly-established Professional Umpires’ Team who will officiate in men’s and women’s matches across England and Wales.
Shantry, Naeem Ashraf, Anthony Harris, Sue Redfern and Surendiran Shanmugam join the Professional Umpires’ Team, which has been established following an independent review into officiating carried out last year.
The left armer was forced to retire during the 2018 season because of a back injury and spoke then of his aim to become a professional umpire.
He has developed as an umpire in recreational cricket following his retirement as a player.
Shantry picked up 266 first class, 92 List A and 92 T20 wickets for Worcestershire and will always be remembered for his century and ten wickets against Surrey in 2014 at New Road to seal promotion to Division One of the County Championship.
The independent review sought to understand how the ECB can continue to best attract, appoint, develop, performance manage and evaluate match officials from all backgrounds.
One of the key recommendations was to create a single pool of umpires to replace the previous system which saw a First-Class Panel of umpires, backed up by a part-time Reserve Panel.
Members of the Professional Umpires’ Team are available to stand in women’s professional cricket (Women’s Regional competitions and The Hundred) and men’s professional cricket (County Second XI, Royal London Cup, Vitality Blast, The Hundred and LV= Insurance County Championship).
All members of the Professional Umpires’ Team will now have the support to allow them to concentrate solely on umpiring as a career.
Redfern, currently in New Zealand, where she is officiating at the ICC Women’s World Cup, will continue to be available to officiate women’s international cricket in addition to the opportunities her appointment to the Professional Umpires’ Team will provide.
The five appointments are all promoted from the National Panel of umpires and showcase the value of a clear pathway into professional ranks.
All have been appointed following a recruitment process overseen by the new diverse Officiating Oversight Panel.
Their appointments come following the retirements of Jeff Evans (2019), Jeremy Lloyds (2019), Ian Gould (2021) and Ian Ramage (2021) and ensure a full list of umpires for the new season.
