Sue Redfern To Become First Female Umpire To Officiate A Men's International Match in England

History is in the making for 43-year old Sue Redfern as she will become the first female umpire to officiate in a men’s international match in England. She will be the fourth umpire in the first T20I between England and Sri Lanka to be played in Cardiff. Initially, Alex Wharf was selected for the role but now she will be replaced by Redfern.

England and Sri Lanka will play a limited-overs series comprising of 3 T20Is and as many ODIs.The three T20Is will be played between June 23-26, while the ODIs will be played between June 29- July 4. Meanwhile, Redfern said that she is looking forward to this experience.

“It’s going to be a great experience. I’m feeling pretty privileged. It’s unexpected but at the same time, it’s a great opportunity to showcase that females can officiate in a variety of environments” Redfern told ESPNcricinfo.

Sue Redfern To Officiate As Fourth Umpire In England vs Sri Lanka 1st T20I

Sue Redfern has officiated in 32 women’s international matches so far with 12 of them as a TV umpire. She has also played six Tests and 15 ODIs for England. She was also an umpire in the drawn Test match between India and England women.

Redfern first officiated in the World Cricket League Division Five match between Oman and Nigeria in 2016. With Windies umpire Jacqueline Williams also officiating as a third umpire in the game, it was the first time that two women had officiated in a men’s ICC tournament fixture.

Sue Redfern said that she is looking to do the job assigned to her irrespective of the fact that she is a female official in a men’s international game.

“What the players are looking for is, they’re really not bothered about whether I’m male or female, they just want me to do my job,” Redfern said. “That’s the most important thing, how I manage that game and how I umpire in that game” concluded Redfern.

Before Redfern, Claire Polosak became the first-ever female umpire in a men’s game when she was the fourth umpire for the third Test between Australia and India at the SCG.

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