By RON FANFAIR
Canadian Ashook Brijcoomar is among 20 umpires selected to officiate in the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup Qualifying Series Division Two tournament that started earlier this week in Malaysia.
The umpires will also take part in a two-day seminar with Australia's Darrell Hair and ICC Umpires and Referees Manager Chris Kelly before being assessed on their performance in the tournament.
The most promising umpires in the event will be invited to join the ICC Associates and Affiliates Umpires Panel from which members will be appointed to ICC Intercontinental Cup matches and other Associate and Affiliate series.
The Panel members will also be eligible for ICC events, including the ICC Trophy and the ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup tournaments and could even be invited to participate in the ICC Champions Trophy and ICC Cricket World Cup events.
Members of the ICC Associates and Affiliates Umpires Panel will be requested to take a role in the training and development of other umpires within their country and region.
ICC General Manager (Cricket) David Richardson said that it was necessary to provide opportunities for officials from outside the ICC Full member countries to enhance their skills.
"It is important that we provide the same development opportunities for umpires from nations outside the Test-playing nations as we do for the teams from these countries," said Richardson. "This initiative will give us an opportunity to work with these officials and help us identify candidates to officiate at future events."
The winner of the World Cup Qualifying Series Division Two tournament that ends in Malaysia on Sunday will join Canada and other Affiliates in the ICC Trophy tournament in Ireland from July 1-13.
The World Cup Qualifying Series Division Two participants are the Cayman Islands, Fiji, Italy, Kuwait, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Qatar and Zambia.
Brijcoomar has officiated in several high-profile tournaments in the past three years, including the West Indies "A"/Canada series in the Greater Toronto Area in 2002, the West Indies Under-19 series in Trinidad & Tobago in 2003 and the Canadian leg of the inaugural three-day Intercontinental Cup tournament last year.
He is the holder of the West Indies Cricket Umpires Association Oral and Practical Exam and Canadian Cricket Umpires Association Level Three certificates.
New Toronto Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association president Austin Foote is delighted that one of his members has been chosen to officiate in an international series.
"Brij is one of our better umpires and it's good that he's getting the international exposure," said Foote who replaced Errol Griffith.
Brijcoomar is one of four umpires from the Americas region selected to work at the Division Two tournament and try out for a spot on the new Associates and Affiliates Umpires Panel. The others are Courtney Young and Hubert Smythe of the Cayman Islands and Bermudan Roger Dill.