Kumar Dharmasena’s involvement in an umpiring blunder on the first day of the World Cup has not stopped him from being selected to officiate on the final day – and in the process become the first person to feature in a World Cup final as both an umpire and player.
English umpire Richard Kettleborough, rated as the world’s best umpire for the past two years, was unsurprisingly chosen by the ICC to be in the centre on Sunday at the MCG for the match between Australia and New Zealand.
That he will be joined by Dharmasena, who won the umpires’ award in 2011, was a surprise – not because of the Sri Lankan’s general standard of officiating but because of his role that saw England’s James Taylor stranded two runs short of a maiden century for England.
