Simon Taufel bids adieu to international umpiring

COLOMBO: Australian Simon Taufel on Sunday stood down from international umpiring after officiating in the World Twenty 20 final between Sri Lanka and West Indies at the R Premadasa Stadium.

It was an emotional moment for Taufel as he took the field to officiate for one last time. The 41-year-old had already announced that he would retire after World Twenty 20 to become the Umpire Performance and Training Manager with the ICC.

In an outstanding career, Taufel umpired in 74 Tests and 174 ODIs with his last Test and ODI appearances being at Lord's a month ago in matches featuring England and South Africa.

Taufel will be replaced by Bruce Oxenford in the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires from November 1.

Taufel won the ICC Umpire of the Year award for five successive years from 2004 to 2008.

Taufel along with Pakistan's Aleem Dar were the on-field umpires for the final between Sri Lanka and West Indies.

Taufel on Saturday termed the 2011 World Cup semifinal between India versus Pakistan as the "most exciting match" of his career.

"When I look back, there are many memorable moments but I can instantly remember the India versus Pakistan game at Mohali during the 2011 World Cup semifinal as the most exciting one," Taufel had said.

"The Prime Ministers of the two countries were present and it was more than just a game of cricket. I believe there were two finals in 2011 World Cup. The semifinal and the final," he added.