Hong Kong Umpires Appointed as Match Officials in ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier
The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier will kick off tomorrow and five regional runners-up Ireland, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Uganda and the USA are competing in the tournament till 22 October in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Former Hong Kong Skipper Tabarak Dar and past training officer of the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers (Hong Kong, China) Ian Thomson have been chosen to officiate in the tournament. Dar made his debut tour for Hong Kong in 1997 and captained Hong Kong for 12 years after he took the reins in 2001. He played four One Day Internationals and two First Class matches. Hong Kong won the ACC Trophy under his captaincy in 2008. He also served as a full-time development officer for the Hong Kong Cricket Association for 12 years, organising development programmes as well as overseeing youth leagues. An Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Level 3 Coach, Dar is also a certified coach educator for the ACC and a Level 2 Umpire. He was the head coach of Hong Kong at the ACC Trophy in Kuwait in 2010 and served as Third Umpire in the Nepal vs Hong Kong tour to Sri Lanka in August 2015 that included T20i matches and a three-day match. Ian Thomson, an Assisting Professor of University of Saint Joseph in Macau, and a self-confessed cricket tragic. Also a Level 2 Umpire, he was recently training officer of the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers (Hong Kong, China), where he managed the association's teaching of scoring and umpiring to its members. HKCA CEO Tim Cutler said, “I'm very pleased to see the recent efforts of the HKCA in increasing its focus on the development of our match officials is bearing fruit. This will be great experience for both Tabarak and Ian and I congratulate them both on their appointments.”
