Davis 11th umpire to officiate in 50 Tests

Durban: Steve Davis Thursday became the 11th umpire to complete a half-century of Tests when he took the field alongside Rod Tucker for the second and final cricket Test between South Africa and India here.

Davis, born April 9 1952 in London, made his Test debut in the third and final Test between Australia and New Zealand in November 1997 in Hobart. He was promoted to the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires in April 2008. In addition to 50 Tests, Davis has also umpired in 122 ODIs and 20 T20s, and has been involved in all the ICC major events including the 2007 and 2011 World Cup, 2009 and 2013 Champions Trophy, World Twenty20 in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012. To mark the achievement, ICC match referee Andy Pycroft presented a crystal plaque to the umpire on behalf of the ICC at a special Christmas lunch here Wednesday. Davis said: “I’m proud to have joined the company of some of the top names to have umpired in 50 Tests. Every Test I have been involved in has been a memorable one for me, not only because I had the privilege to feature in matches played by some of the modern day greats but also because I got an opportunity to work closely with my colleagues and learn something new and different from them each time." Umpires with 50 or more Tests: Umpire (span) Tests Steve Bucknor (1989-2009) 128 Rudi Koertzen (1992-2010) 108 Daryl Harper (1998-2011) 95 David Shepherd (1985-2005)92 Aleem Dar (2003-to date) 86 Darrell Hair (1992-2008) 78 Billy Bowden (2000- to date) 76 Simon Taufel (2000-2012) 74 Srinivas Venkataraghavan (1993-04)73 Dicky Bird (1973-1996) 66 Steve Davis (1997- to date) 50