First female referee to oversee men’s ODI

For the first time in the history of world cricket, a female referee is going to oversee a men’s One-Day International match, that too the opening match of the third series of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 to be held at the United Arab Emirates. G S Lakshmi from India will be creating history by overseeing the One-Day International match taking place on December 8 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium at United Arab Emirates. This happens to be 51-years-old Lakshmi’s second significant achievement this year, the first one being her appointment as the first woman into the ICC International Panel of Match Referees in May 2019. She first started as a match referee in domestic women’s cricket in 2008-09, and later oversaw three women’s ODI matches, 16 men’s T20 Internationals and seven women’s T20 Internationals. Lakshmi was overjoyed by this recent achievement and said, “It feels great, having anything assigned ‘first’ to your name gives me a sense of pride. This being a big ICC event it feels great to be officiating at this level”. She expressed her passion for cricket, “I played cricket with my brothers and friends, when my college saw my skills, I had a natural bowling action, they immediately accepted me to the college and I then played for my state in domestic cricket for 18 years”. “These qualification events provide a good platform to prepare officials and provide them opportunities to gain valuable experience. I hope my promotion to the ICC International Panel of Match Referees and records like this can inspire many females. This is definitely another career opportunity for women”, she added. Adrian Griffith, ICC Senior Manager, Umpires and Referees congratulated Lakshmi and said, “Congratulations to GS Lakshmi on becoming the first women match referee to oversee a Men’s One Day International. It is thoroughly deserved and highlights the wonderful opportunities there are for females in cricket officiating”.

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