Aleem Dar named ‘Umpire of the Year’

LONDON: Umpire Aleem Dar has won the David Shepherd Trophy for third time after being named ICC Umpire of the Year at the LG ICC Awards in London.
Dar, who is 43 and from Pakistan, was voted to this award by the 10 Full Member captains as well as the eight-man Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, based on his decision statistics and officiating skills over the past 12 months.
It is the third year in a row that he has received the ICC award which was renamed last year after the late England umpire David Shepherd.
Dar accepted his award from ICC Hall of Fame 2011 inductee Alan Davidson and said: “It’s a great honour and I’m thankful to everyone at the ICC and also my colleagues on the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires along with the Pakistan Cricket Board. I’d like to also thank all my family for all their support since I’m away nearly eight months of the year umpiring.”
Dar beat off strong competition from his colleagues on the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires Steve Davis, Ian Gould and five-time ICC Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel.
Dar, who made his international debut as an umpire in 2000, joined the Emirates Elite Panel in 2004. In the voting period of these awards, Dar stood in five Tests and 13 ODIs. He stood in the ICC Cricket World Cup in the India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, where he was an on-field umpire in eight of the matches, including the final between India and Sri Lanka.
Based on the period between 11 August 2010 and 3 August 2011, the LG ICC Awards 2011 – presented in association with FICA – take into account performances by players and officials in a remarkable period for the game.