Australia’s Claire Polosak and Eloise Sheridan will make history as part of an all-female umpiring panel at upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier in Scotland from 31 August to 7 September.
The appointment marks another milestone for the pair, who together formed the first female umpiring duo to officiate a professional fixture on Australian soil in December 2018 in the Women’s Big Bash League.
Polosak also became the first woman to umpire a men’s One Day International earlier this year in Namibia and was the first women to officiate in a men’s domestic match in Australian in 2017.
“To have an all-female umpiring team at an ICC event for the first time is really exciting,” Polosak said.
“It shows female umpires across the world are making the most of their opportunities which ensures the officiating family continues to get stronger.”
Polosak and Sheridan will be joined by Jacqueline Williams, Sue Redfern, Kim Cotton and Lauren Agenbach all from the ICC Development Panel of Umpires.
The tournament will see eight teams compete for two places at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 to be held in the Australian cities of Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney next year.
The Women’s tournament will be held as a standalone event from 21 February – 8 March, while the men’s (18 October – 5 November) tournament will be held later in the year.
Both events will culminate in finals at the world’s largest cricket stadium, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, presenting an opportunity to set a new world record for the highest attendance at a women’s sporting fixture on Sunday 8 March 2020, International Women’s Day.
Tickets are already on sale for the women’s event at t20worldcup.com.
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier Tournament Matches
31 August: Bangladesh v PNG (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 10h00); Eloise Sheridan and Sue Redfern (on-field umpires), Kim Cotton (reserve umpire).
Thailand v Netherlands (Arbroath Sports Club, 10h00); Lauren Agenbach and Claire Polosak (on-field umpires), Jacqueline Williams (reserve umpire)
Scotland v USA (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 14h00); Sue Redfern and Kim Cotton (on-field umpires), Eloise Sheridan (reserve umpire)
Namibia v Ireland (Arbroath Sports Club 14h00); Claire Polosak and Jacqueline Williams (on-field umpires), Lauren Agenbach (reserve umpire)
1 September: Thailand v Namibia (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 10h00) Eloise Sheridan and Claire Polosak (on-field umpires), Jacqueline Williams (reserve umpire)
Scotland v PNG (Arbroath Sports Club, 10h00) Lauren Agenbach and Kim Cotton (on-field umpires),Sue Redfern (reserve umpire)
Ireland v Netherlands (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 14h00) Jacqueline Williams and Eloise Sheridan (on-field umpires), Claire Polosak (reserve umpire)
USA v Bangladesh (Arbroath Sports Club 14h00) Sue Redfern and Lauren Agenbach (on-field umpires), Kim Cotton (reserve umpire)
3 September: Ireland v Thailand (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 10h00) Jacqueline Williams and Sue Redfern (on-field umpires), Eloise Sheridan (reserve umpire)
Netherlands v Namibia (Arbroath Sports Club, 10h00) Kim Cotton and Lauren Agenbach (on-field umpires), Claire Polosak (reserve umpire)
Scotland v Bangladesh (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 14h00) Eloise Sheridan and Jacqueline Williams (on-field umpires), Sue Redfern (reserve umpire)
PNG v USA (Arbroath Sports Club 14h00) Lauren Agenbach and Claire Polosak (on-field umpires) Kim Cotton (reserve umpire)
Appointments for the 5 and 7 September play-offs will be announced in due course.
