News

The International Cricket Council has today named the Match Official appointments for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 group stage – and the North West’s Roly Black becomes the first Irish-based umpire to be selected to stand in a T20 World Cup.

Roly, 54, was asked about how he found out about the appointment:

“I was in Abu Dhabi, umpiring in a T10 franchise competition, when I got a message from Phil Thompson, Cricket Ireland’s Match Officials Manager. I called him back and Phil broke the news – to be honest I was absolutely delighted. Over the next few days as the news sort of sunk in. I was really over the moon.”

Roly was first awarded a full-time seasonal contract by Cricket Ireland in 2019, however, he has been umpiring since 2006 and has steadily risen through the ranks of the profession. So, how does he view his role today:

“From an umpiring perspective, I see it as my responsibility for the next couple of years to try and open new doors, to try and raise the bar as far as what can be achieved for Irish umpires. To help define and explain the pathway for officiating in Ireland, and how it works.

“I’ve enjoyed great support during the last decade or more. When Ireland became a Full Member, we had four international umpires who worked closely – Mark Hawthorne, Paul Reynolds, Alan Neill and myself. We enjoyed each other’s successes and we sort of picked each other up when things maybe just didn’t go to plan.

“But support of my family was even more crucial. Without the support of my wife and my children, this journey wouldn’t have been possible. They sacrifice a lot – there’s a lot of birthdays and anniversaries and families events that you have to miss. I really, really appreciate that support.”

What makes a good umpire?

“You need the right attributes – you need to have the correct growth mindset, have that willingness to work hard and to learn – then, anything’s possible, really.

“You can also learn so much from your peers just by watching them in action. The late Paul Reynolds was definitely one we all learned from. I still think about Paul nearly every day in life, and I know he would be proud of this news. He’ll be looking down, and whenever I step over that rope for the first time, Paul will be very much firmly in my thoughts.”

Match Officials at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026

• Match Referees: Dean Cosker, David Gilbert, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft, Richie Richardson and Javagal Srinath will share match referee duties.

• Umpires: Roland Black, Chris Brown, Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Wayne Knights, Donovan Koch, Jayaraman Madanagopal, Nitin Menon, Sam Nogajski, KNA Padmanabhan, Allahuddien Paleker, Ahsan Raza, Leslie Reifer, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Gazi Sohel, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Raveendra Wimalasiri and Asif Yaqoob.

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup starts on 7 February 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.