Russell Warren and Zahid Bassarath will be the on-field umpires for the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026 opening-day clash between USA and India, with group stage appointments now finalised.
Lubabalo Gcuma will be the TV Umpire for the Group B opener, with Ahmad Shah Durrani as Fourth Umpire and Dean Cosker in place as the match referee.
The opening day has three matches taking place in all, with Masudur Mukul and Aidan Seaver overseeing Zimbabwe versus Scotland, and Iknow Chabi and Cory Black taking charge of Tanzania’s historic clash against West Indies as the African nation make their first appearance at an ICC global event.
Chabi is one of two Zimbabweans on this Emirates ICC International Panel of Umpires, joined by Forster Mutizwa, who will be in the middle for the first time when Australia take on Ireland on Saturday.
Graham Lloyd, who is following in the footsteps of his father David as an international umpire, is part of the on-field team for Japan’s first match of the competition against Sri Lanka, alongside Nitin Bathi.
In all, there are 17 umpires in place for the competition along with four match referees, Cosker being joined by Graeme La Brooy, Neeyamur Rahul and Prakash Bhatt.
Appointments for the Super Six and knockout stages will follow at a later date.
Match official appointments – ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026
January 15: USA v India
On-field: Russell Warren and Zahid Bassarath
TV Umpire: Lubabalo Gcuma
4th Umpire: Ahmad Shah Durrani
Referee: Dean Cosker
January 15: Zimbabwe v Scotland
On-field: Masudur Mukul and Aidan Seaver
TV Umpire: Prageeth Rambukwella
4th Umpire: Shawn Craig
Referee: Graeme La Brooy
January 15: Tanzania v West Indies
On-field: Iknow Chabi and Cory Black
TV Umpire: Faisal Afridi
4th Umpire: Virender Sharma
Referee: Prakash Bhatt
January 16: Pakistan v England
On-field: Prageeth Rambukwella and Shawn Craig
TV Umpire: Masudur Mukul
4th Umpire: Aidan Seaver
Referee: Graeme La Brooy
January 16: Australia v Ireland
On-field: Deighton Butler and Forster Mutizwa
TV Umpire: Graham Lloyd
4th Umpire: Nitin Bathi
Referee: Prakash Bhatt
January 16: Afghanistan v South Africa
On-field: Shaun Haig and Faisal Afridi
TV Umpire: Cory Black
4th Umpire: Iknow Chabi
Referee: Neeyamur Rahul
January 17: India v Bangladesh
On-field: Russell Warren and Lubabalo Gcuma
TV Umpire: Ahmad Shah Durrani
4th Umpire: Zahid Bassarath
Referee: Dean Cosker
January 17: Japan v Sri Lanka
On-field: Nitin Bathi and Graham Lloyd
TV Umpire: Forster Mutizwa
4th Umpire: Virender Sharma
Referee: Neeyamur Rahul
January 18: New Zealand v USA
On-field: Ahmad Shah Durrani and Zahid Bassarath
TV Umpire: Russell Warren
4th Umpire: Lubabalo Gcuma
Referee: Dean Cosker
January 18: England v Zimbabwe
On-field: Shawn Craig and Prageeth Rambukwella
TV Umpire: Aidan Seaver
4th Umpire: Masudur Mukul
Referee: Graeme La Brooy
January 18: West Indies v Afghanistan
On-field: Cory Black and Faisal Afridi
TV Umpire: Virender Sharma
4th Umpire: Shaun Haig
Referee: Prakash Bhatt
January 19: Pakistan v Scotland
On-field: Aidan Seaver and Masudur Mukul
TV Umpire: Shawn Craig
4th Umpire: Prageeth Rambukwella
Referee: Graeme La Brooy
January 19: Sri Lanka v Ireland
On-field: Shaun Haig and Deighton Butler
TV Umpire: Iknow Chabi
4th Umpire: Forster Mutizwa
Referee: Neeyamur Rahul
January 19: South Africa v Tanzania
On-field: Graham Lloyd and Nitin Bathi
TV Umpire: Cory Black
4th Umpire: Faisal Afridi
Referee: Prakash Bhatt
January 20: Bangladesh v New Zealand
On-field: Lubabalo Gcuma and Ahmad Shah Durrani
TV Umpire: Zahid Bassarath
4th Umpire: Russell Warren
Referee: Dean Cosker
January 20: Australia v Japan
On-field: Virender Sharma and Forster Mutizwa
TV Umpire: Nitin Bathi
4th Umpire: Deighton Butler
Referee: Neeyamur Rahul
January 21: England v Scotland
On-field: Shawn Craig and Masudur Makul
TV Umpire: Prageeth Rambukwella
4th Umpire: Aidan Seaver
Referee: Graeme La Brooy
January 21: Afghanistan v Tanzania
On-field: Virender Sharma and Iknow Chabi
TV Umpire: Shaun Haig
4th Umpire: Graham Lloyd
Referee: Prakash Bhatt
January 22: Zimbabwe v Pakistan
On-field: Russell Warren v Ahmad Shah Durrani
TV Umpire: Lubabalo Gcuma
4th Umpire: Zahid Bassarath
Referee: Dean Cosker
January 22: Ireland v Japan
On-field: Faisal Afridi and Forster Mutizwa
TV Umpire: Deighton Butler
4th Umpire: Iknow Chabi
Referee: Neeyamur Rahul
January 22: West Indies v South Africa
On-field: Graham Lloyd and Shaun Haig
TV Umpire: Nitin Bathi
4th Umpire: Cory Black
Referee: Prakash Bhatt
January 23: Bangladesh v USA
On-field: Lubabalo Gcuma and Zahid Bassarath
TV Umpire: Ahmad Shah Durrani
4th Umpire: Russell Warren
Referee: Dean Cosker
January 23: Sri Lanka v Australia
On-field: Deighton Butler and Virender Sharma
TV Umpire: Faisal Afridi
4th Umpire: Nitin Bathi
Referee: Neeyamur Rahul
January 24: India v New Zealand
On-field: Prageeth Rambukwella and Aidan Seaver
TV Umpire: Shawn Craig
4th Umpire: Masudur Makul
Referee: Graeme La Brooy
curio
Sport Trivia: Who was the first person from South Africa to win the Olympic 100m sprint? Answer: Reggie Walker. South African Reggie Walker won the Olympic 100m track event in London in 1908. He set a new Olympic record of 10.8 seconds in his semi final, and equalled it in the final. He was just 19yrs and 128 days old when he won the gold medal. Paul Nash equalled the then world record of 10.0 seconds four times in 1968.
Widow Curio
The Confederation of African Rugby is the governing body of rugby union within Africa and currently has 37 members. It runs various rugby tournaments within Africa including the CAR Super 16 and the Africa Cup.