Top 5 Leading Female Umpires In The World

A traditionally male-dominated sector is gradually stretching as it welcomes women into it. Umpiring has probably been a male-dominated vocation in the game of cricket, with few females walking the field to officiate a match. However, things have been changing rapidly in recent years. Many female umpires have worked at the international level, contributing to gender diversity in the field of umpiring.

Here are a few of the world’s female international umpires:

Sue Redfern:

She is a former English cricketer who played six Tests and 15 One-Day Internationals for England between 1995 and 1999. She wanted to become an umpire after hanging up her cricket boots. Initially, she exclusively umpired local matches. However, as the years passed, she began to receive better possibilities. She was the fourth umpire for a WODI against Australia and England in July 2015. Later that year, she was appointed as an umpire at the World T20 Qualifiers in Thailand. She was one of the umpires for the ICC Women’s World Cup in England a few years later, in 2017. As a result, she became the first woman to both play and umpire in a World Cup match.

Jacqueline Williams:

This Jamaican umpire has officiated in five ODIs, 16 T20Is, 17 WODIs, and 43 WT20Is to date. She began her umpiring career in 2015, when she was assigned to the ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifiers. She served as one of four female umpires during the Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in 2017. She was named one of the twelve on-field umpires for the ICC Women’s World T20 in 2018. She was named to the ICC Development Panel of Umpires in 2019. She was named as one of the umpires to officiate in matches during the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier event in Scotland the same year.

In men’s cricket, she played her maiden T20I match in 2019 against Canada and the Cayman Islands in the Regional Finals of the 2018-19 ICC T20 World Cup Americas Qualifiers event. In the same year, she made her ODI umpiring debut, officiating in a match between the United States and Papua New Guinea as part of the United States Tri-Nation Series. In 2020, she made history by becoming the first woman to serve as the third umpire in a men’s Twenty20 International between the West Indies and Ireland.

Claire Polosak:

Despite being a school teacher by trade, Polosak is an accomplished Australian cricket umpire. She was one of four female umpires during the Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in 2017. In 2018, she was named one of twelve on-field umpires for the ICC Women’s World T20. In 2019, she was named to the ICC Development Panel of Umpires. In the same year, she was appointed as an umpire for the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier competition in Scotland. She will be one of the umpires during the ICC Women’s World T20 in Australia in 2020. In 2021, she became the first female umpire (fourth umpire) in a men’s Test match.

Kim Cotton:

One T20I, 12 WODI, and 34 WT20I were officiated by the New Zealander who served as the umpire. She was one of the twelve on-field officials for the ICC Women’s World T20 in 2018. She was appointed to the ICC Development Panel of Umpires in 2019. She was selected to officiate in games during the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier competition in Scotland that same year. She officiated at the ICC Women’s World T20 in Australia in 2020 as one of the umpires. She was one of the two on-field umpires who presided over the India vs. Australia Women’s World T20 final in 2020.

Lauren Agenbag:

One of the newest international female umpires, she is young. This South African official has officiated 32 WT20Is and three WODIs thus far. In a WT20I match between South Africa and Sri Lanka in 2019, she officiated her maiden international game. She was the first female South African umpire during a T20I game. She was appointed to the ICC Development Panel of Umpires that same year and served as one of the officials who oversaw games at the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier event in Scotland. She was selected to preside in games in the 2020 ICC Women’s World T20 in Australia as one of the match officials. She stood when she made her WODI umpiring debut in 2021.

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