ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 to have all-women panel of match officials

Four umpires promoted to make their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup debut as the tournament begins on 12 June in Edgbaston

Candace La Borde, Gayathri Venugopalan, Kerrin Klaaste and Shathira Jakir Jesy will make their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup umpiring debut in England and Wales next month.

As anticipation builds for what is set to be the biggest women’s sporting event in the world, the appointment of an all-female ICC International Panel of Match Officials for the third consecutive ICC Women’s T20 World Cup reflects both the remarkable growth of the women’s game and the ICC’s broader objective of showcasing excellence across every facet of the sport.

The increasing depth of high-performing female match officials in international cricket is a powerful marker of the sport’s progress, with the consistently high standards demonstrated in bilateral series and previous ICC women’s events underpinning these well-earned selections for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.

The quartet, who were also appointed for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, join a distinguished group of 14 umpires and four match referees who will oversee a record 33 fixtures at the expanded 10th edition of international cricket’s premier women’s T20 event, which gets underway on 12 June in Birmingham.

Nine members of the match officials’ team from the 2024 edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup will return, with Claire Polosak to stand in the middle at her sixth T20 World Cup. The Australian has officiated in 22 matches at the tournament to date, the most by any umpire.

Jacquline Williams and Kim Cotton, who have overseen 19 matches each on this stage, will reach the milestone of five T20 World Cups.