Trinidad & Tobago’s Candace la Borde has been named among a panel of 10 umpires for the upcoming 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Pakistan from April 9-19.
This will be the second ICC tournament for la Borde who also officiated at the ICC Women’s Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia earlier this year.
In Pakistan, the host nation will be represented on the umpiring panel by Faisal Khan Afridi and Saleema Imtiaz.
In September 2024, Imtiaz made history by becoming the first Pakistani woman to join an ICC panel of umpires, being successfully nominated to the ICC International Panel of Development Umpires.
The similarly trailblazing Sarah Dambanevana is also part of the team. She is the first female Zimbabwean umpire to stand in a Cricket World Cup final during the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, as well as the first female to officiate in a Zimbabwean domestic men’s fixture.
There are two Bangladeshi umpires on the panel, with Masudur Rahman Mukul and Shatira Jakir Jesy selected.
Masudur has been a regular feature at ICC events in recent years, including the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cups of 2020 and 2024, while Shathira – who featured in two women’s ODIs during her playing career – is looking forward to her maiden appearance.
Donovan Koch, who was persuaded to pursue a career in umpiring by Richard Kettleborough during a stint as an overseas professional in Sheffield, England, is also on the panel alongside Babs Gcuma, la Borde, Dedunu de Silva and Shaun Haig.
Ali Naqvi, Shandre Fritz and Trudy Anderson will be in place as match referees.
ICC Senior Manager – Umpires and Referees, Sean Easey said: “This is an exciting opportunity for our appointed match officials, overseeing this important tournament which is the last step for teams on the path to the World Cup.
“Our officials are experienced and well prepared, and we look forward to seeing them participate in this event.”
The full list of officials is as follows:
Referees
Ali Naqvi (Pakistan), Shandre Fritz (South Africa), Trudy Anderson (New Zealand).
Umpires:
Babs Gcuma (South Africa), Candace la Borde (West Indies), Dedunu de Silva (Sri Lanka), Donovan Koch (Australia), Faisal Khan Afridi (Pakistan), Masudur Rahman Mukul (Bangladesh), Saleema Imtiaz (Pakistan), Sarah Dambanevana (Zimbabwe), Shathira Jakir Jesy (Bangladesh), Shaun Haig (New Zealand).