ICC announces officials for WTC final between Australia and South Africa; India's Nitin Menon named fourth umpire
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday named match officials for the upcoming World Test Championship final between Australia and South Africa at the Lord's Cricket Ground. The summit clash will be played from June 11-15 with June 16 acting as the reserve day, if rain plays spoilsport. New Zealand's Chris Gaffaney and England's Richard Illingworth have been appointed as the on-field umpires for the final while Richard Kettleborough will act as the TV umpire.
India's Nitin Menon has been chosen as the fourth umpire for the contest. This will be his debut as a match official in a WTC final. He had earlier served as the TV umpire for the Men's T20 World Cup final in 2021 between Australia and New Zealand.
The WTC final 2025 will be overseen by Indian match referee Javagal Srinath.
'We are pleased to announce an experienced team of match officials for the ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord's, marking the culmination of a highly competitive two-year cycle of Test matches played around the world,' ICC chairman Jay Shah said in an official statement.
'We strive to select the most qualified and deserving officials for all matches, and we are confident they will perform admirably. On behalf of the ICC, I wish them all the best and hope they enjoy this assignment," he added.
Illingworth will create history when he walks out to officiate at the Lord's Cricket Ground as he has served as on-field umpire for all the three World Test Championship Finals.
Illingworth was earlier a part of the officiating team in the 2021 and 2023 finals. He is the current ICC Umpire of the Year, having won the David Shepherd Trophy for the fourth time in 2024.
Speaking of Gaffaney, he had earlier officiated in the WTC 2023 final between India and Australia at the Oval.
Richard Kettleborough, who will serve as the TV umpire, had earlier played the same role in the WTC 2021 final between India and New Zealand.
Both Australia and South Africa have announced their squads for the upcoming WTC final next month. Defending champions Australia will be led by Pat Cummins while the Proteas would be captained by Temba Bavuma.
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann.
South Africa: Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy.
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