Bucknor picked for W/Cup ‘semis’

JOHANNESBURG: At least one South African will appear in a World Cup semi-final.

Umpire Rudi Koertzen and England’s David Shepherd were appointed by the International Cricket Council to officiate the Australia/Sri Lanka semi-final at Port Elizabeth tomorrow. Billy Bowden, the theatrical umpire from New Zealand, will be the third umpire and former West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd will be the match referee.

West Indies umpire Steve Bucknor and Australian Daryl Harper were appointed for the India/Kenya semi-final at Durban on Thursday. Another Australian, Simon Taufel, will be the third umpire in Durban and another South African, Mike Procter, will be match referee. “These appointments reflect the consistently high standards of decision-making and match management achieved over the course of the tournament,” ICC general manager David Richardson said in a statement. “All officials have been assessed on a match-by-match basis, and the eight umpires selected for the finals are the men who have performed best in the opinion of the captains, match referees and the ICC.”