Richard Kettleborough is about to make history. On Friday when the West Indies play Australia in Grenada, he will be umpiring his 93rd Test match. That will be a record for an English umpire.
Kettleborough was born in Sheffield and started his Test umpiring career 15 years ago in Galle, Sri Lanka. Since then he has been known for being fair, calm and consistent on the field.
The Test match between the West Indies and Australia in Grenada on July 3 will be Kettleborough’s 93rd Test match as an umpire. He will be the England umpire to have umpired the most Tests, surpassing his mentor David Shepherd.
Kettleborough, 52, said it was a “big honour” and he never thought he would get to this point. He told the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) he was pleased with his career and what he had done.
I never thought I would get to this but I’m very pleased with what I’ve done. To pass David Shepherd – who was one of my heroes growing up – is something I’m very pleased about, Kettleborough said.
Kettleborough has already umpired some of the biggest games in cricket – Ashes Tests and World Cup matches. This will move him closer to the overall record held by Aleem Dar of Pakistan who has umpired 145 Tests, the most ever.
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Richard Allan Kettleborough is about to become England’s most experienced Test umpire. He was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire in 1973. He played cricket for Yorkshire and Middlesex and even scored a century in 33 matches.
He switched to umpiring and joined the ECB first-class panel in 2006. He made his international debut in a T20I in 2009 and umpired his first Test in Galle in November 2010. Kettleborough quickly moved up and joined the ICC Elite Panel in May 2011. Since then he has won three consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards.
