ICC U19 WC: 19 umpires from 14 different countries to be on the field

The International Cricket Council on Monday announced the umpire and match referee appointments for the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2022, which will be staged in the West Indies from January 14 to February 5.

Experienced English umpire David Millns will stand alongside Nepal's Buddhi Pradhan for the opening match of the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup after the officials were confirmed for the West Indies.

Millns, who has been a first-class umpire for nearly 14 years, and Pradhan will oversee hosts West Indies against Australia at National Stadium in Guyana on January 14.

ICC Senior Manager - Umpires and Referees, Adrian Griffith said: "The U19 Men's Cricket World Cup is a very important event in our calendar as it brings together the world's most promising young players in a major ICC tournament, giving them the experience of competing on the global stage.

"We are committed to appointing the finest officials available and I have every confidence in the team travelling to West Indies for the U19 Cricket World Cup they will do a fine job. I wish them all the best."

Millns' compatriot Martin Saggers will be the TV Umpire for the first of 48 games, with a 22-strong team of match officials confirmed by the International Cricket Council.

Among those taking charge will be Pakistan's Rashid Riaz who reprises his role from the 2020 tournament and takes charge of England's opening fixture against Bangladesh with Ireland's Roland Black, who also officiated two years ago.

Asif Yaqoob will be the TV umpire for the same fixture which sees the defending U19 champions Bangladesh kickstart the defence of their title. Yaqoob is the third umpire who stood in South Africa last time out to again be selected.

The Pakistani official is set to be in the middle for the West Indies against Scotland, England against Canada, and Bangladesh against the UAE.

In all, 19 umpires from 14 different countries will be on the field with five also performing the role of TV umpire throughout the first stage of the tournament.

They will be joined by three referees for the duration of the tournament, with former Sri Lanka international Graeme Labrooy officiating alongside home official Denavon Hayles and England's Phil Whitticase.

Fixtures will take place across four nations, including Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Ten venues will be used as the Caribbean welcomes the young stars of the future to its shores for the first time in the tournament's 14-edition history.

Umpire and match referee appointments for the knockout stages will be announced after the teams have been confirmed. The appointments for the Plate and Super League final will be finalised after the semi-finals.

The officials for the tournament are:

Umpires: Asif Yaqoob, Allan Haggo, Arnold Maddela, Buddhi Pradhan, David McLean, David Millns, Emmerson Carington, Heath Kearns, Jacquline Williams, Mark Jameson, Martin Saggers, Nitin Bathi, Rahul Asher, Rashid Riaz, Rizwan Akram, Roland Black, Sameer Bandekar, Sarika Prasad, Vijay Prakash Mallela

Match Referees: Graeme Labrooy, Denavon Hayles, Phil Whitticase.