Image Credit: twitter.com/#ranjan-madugalle
A match referee is an official chosen to run professional cricket games. For Test matches and One Day Internationals (ODIs), the International Cricket Council decides them (ICC). Most games that are off an international level need a referee. A referee watches the action from the stands during a real game. The referee doesn’t make any decisions that affect how the game is played or ends; that’s the umpires’ job. The match referee’s job is to ensure that the ICC Cricket Code of Conduct is followed throughout the game, to judge any violations of the Code, and to give out the proper punishments. Now, using the statistics table on this page, let’s look at each of the five cricket referees who have worked the most games.
- Ranjan Madugalle
Country: Sri Lanka
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Matches: 363
ODI Career: 1993- Present
Ranjan Madugalle is from Sri Lanka. He used to play cricket, but now he is in charge of the ICC Match Referees Panel. In 1993, he started working as an official. He worked hard for many years before finally being recognized by the International Cricket Council as a qualified official. Finally, he had worked a total of 77 Tests and 169 ODIs. He assumed the role of chief judge for the International Cricket Council in 2001. Ranjan Madugalle set a record by officiating 300 or more One-Day Internationals (ODIs). He still holds the record for the most one-day internationals he officiated.
- Chris Broad
Country: England
Matches: 325
ODI Career: 2004- Present
Chris Broad officiated his first match as a referee in 2003 when Pakistan played New Zealand. His first Test as a match official took place between New Zealand and Pakistan “around Christmas 2003.” He was nervous because he didn’t know what to expect. Chris Broad is a fantastic cricket referee. He has officiated 72 tests, 325 one-day internationals, and 54 Twenty20 Internationals. When Sri Lanka visited Pakistan in 2009, there were umpires on the field. One of them, Chris Broad, was attacked by terrorists.
- Jeff Crowe
Country: New Zealand
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Matches: 298
ODI Career: 2004- Present
In 2004, the West Indies and England played an ODI in Georgetown. That was his first job as a match official. Crowe’s job as a referee has gone well so far. One thing he did wrong was not being able to keep the 2007 World Cup final from turning into a joke, even though Australia had a perfect chance of winning. He is still working as a referee and presided over the 2011 World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka. The fifth One-Day International match he officiated in 2017 was at the Adelaide Oval between Australia and Pakistan. It was his 250th ODI match.
- Javagal Srinath
Country: India
Matches: 223
ODI Career: 2006- Present
The International Cricket Council chose Srinath to be a match referee in April 2006, and he worked at the 2007 World Cup. He has been a referee for 35 tests, 194 one-day games, and 60 twenty-over games. In July 2006, Sri Lanka and South Africa played a Test series in Colombo. That was my first match as an ICC match official. The ICC added him to their Emirates Elite Panel of match officials that same year. In December 2006, he played in his first One-Day International match. (New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Napier). He was a referee at the ICC Cricket World Cups in 2007 and 2008. He likes to read and help others when he’s not playing cricket. He is qualified because he possesses a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Mechanical).
- Roshan Mahanama
Country: Sri Lanka
Matches: 222
ODI Career: 2004-2015
Roshan Mahanama stopped playing international cricket in 1999 and started working as a match referee for the International Cricket Council. In 2004, he worked his first One-Day International game in Kingstown, between West Indies and Bangladesh. During the One-Day International (ODI) series between New Zealand and South Africa on October 21, 2014, Roshan Mahanama became one of the few match officials to have officiated at 200 or more games. In 2015, the last Test between New Zealand and Australia was Mahanama’s last time officiating an international cricket game. Mahanama officiated the first day-night Test match in cricket history, which featured the debut of the pink ball.
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