Fittingly enough, the second super match that happened in the history of T20 World Cup happened when Simon Taufel, the Australian umpire was doing umpiring. The expression of Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain when he could not knock off the bails properly, and Simon Taufel referring the decision to the third umpire, underlined the decisions that Taufel is famous for. But this man would not be seen in the cricket field after the end of T20 World Cup as he has announced his retirement .
Simon Taufel decides to bid adieu to the world of cricket after T20 World Cup
He is only 41 years of age, an age when umpires make their debut around the world, but Simon Taufel has been one of the youngest umpires in cricketing history to have made his debut internationally. He is rated as one of the best umpires that world of cricket has seen in the recent times, but he would bow out of the duty of manning 22 yards of pitch on 07 October 2012 when the last ball is bowled in the current T20 tournament.
He already has bid adieu to the world of test cricket umpiring and one-day umpiring in the recently held series between South Africa and England. From the good old days of test cricket umpiring, when one was seldom under pressure in awarding decisions to high octane pressure games, characterized by the advent of the shorter form of games, umpiring has also evolved, and is characterized by razor sharp observation, presence of mind and a cool demeanor. Taufel embodied all this in his persona, or rather was one of the first such who facilitated in the evolution of umpiring around the world.
Though Taufel would be hanging his boots, or rather his famous hats, he would not be too far off from the world of cricket. Taufel has been re-employed by the International Cricket Council to be the Umpire Performance and Training Manager. It is a good changeover job for Simon Taufel as he would be able to share all his experience and train the umpires of the future to facilitate the game of cricket being played in as impartial manner as could be possible.
Obviously, family is an important element of a person’s construct, and Taufel wants to devote time for his family and for himself. Taufel is also one of those who were cricketers and later on switched to umpiring. He was a contemporary of Brett Lee, and a promising fast bowler, who had to change career on account of injury that he suffered. He made his cricketing debut in 1999, and ventured into the world of umpiring in 2000.
He was one of the most familiar faces in all the final tournaments after he made his debut, but for the finals of the World Cup in 2003 and 2007 where Australia was one of the participating teams. He is the only umpire who has won ICC’s Umpire of the year for five continuous years from 2003-2008. World of umpiring would be orphaned by his bidding adieu, but the saving grace is that he would train future umpires and this would ensure that the world of cricket would continue to be exciting.
Tags: Australia, Cricket, Simon Taufel, T20 World Cup, Umpire
