Udaya Wickramasinghe
Encyclopedia
Wickrama Arachchige Udaya Wickramasinghe (12 August 1939 - 12 April 2010) was a Sri Lanka
n cricket umpire.
Wickramasinghe was born in Matugama
in Sri Lanka. He was educated at St Peter's College
and Dharmapala College, and worked as an Immigration Officer in the Immigration Department in Sri Lanka.
His cricket umpiring career began in 1969 in Sri Lankan domestic cricket. He served as an umpire in international cricket from 1987 to 1998. He was the first overseas umpire to qualify as an official instructor of the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers
in England in 1988.
He stood as an umpire in three Tests, all played in Sri Lanka and all of which were drawn. He made his debut as a Test umpire in the First Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at Colombo Cricket Club Ground
in April 1987; then umpired the Second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia at Khettarama Cricket Stadium, Colombo in August 1992; and finally the First Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium
, Colombo in April 1997.
He also umpired 13 One-day Internationals between 1991 and 1998. Apart from 5 ODIs in Sharjah in October 1991 as part of the Wills Trophy, and the remaining 8 were all played in Sri Lanka. In the final of the Wills Trophy between India and Pakistan in Sharjah on 25 October 1991, he gave three consecutive leg before wicket
decisions against Indian batsmen (Ravi Shastri
, Mohammad Azharuddin
, Sachin Tendulkar
), and Pakistan bowler Aaqib Javed
achieved the seventh ever ODI hat-trick and ultimately world record match bowling figures of 7-37 which were not beaten for 9 years.
He died in Colombo
.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n cricket umpire.
Wickramasinghe was born in Matugama
Matugama
Matugama is an electorate in the Kalutara district of Sri Lanka. It is located 64 km to the south of Colombo.- History :Matugama is part of the Pasdun Korale , created when King Parakramabahu the Great drained the Kalu Ganga basin...
in Sri Lanka. He was educated at St Peter's College
St Peter's College, Colombo
St. Peter's College is a distinguished boys only primary to secondary school in the Bambalapitiya zone of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1922....
and Dharmapala College, and worked as an Immigration Officer in the Immigration Department in Sri Lanka.
His cricket umpiring career began in 1969 in Sri Lankan domestic cricket. He served as an umpire in international cricket from 1987 to 1998. He was the first overseas umpire to qualify as an official instructor of the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers
Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers
The Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers was set up by the umpire Tom Smith as the Association of Cricket Umpires , in order to provide training and advice to cricket officials...
in England in 1988.
He stood as an umpire in three Tests, all played in Sri Lanka and all of which were drawn. He made his debut as a Test umpire in the First Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at Colombo Cricket Club Ground
Colombo Cricket Club Ground
Colombo Cricket Club Ground is a multi-purpose stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is currently used mostly for domestic first-class cricket matches and for hosting warm up matches for touring teams. The stadium can hold 6,000 people and hosted its first Test match in 1984. It is one of the smallest...
in April 1987; then umpired the Second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia at Khettarama Cricket Stadium, Colombo in August 1992; and finally the First Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium
R. Premadasa Stadium
R. Premadasa Stadium is a cricket stadium situated on Khettarama Road, Maligawatta, Colombo, Sri Lanka. The stadium was, prior to June 1994, known as the Khettarama Cricket Stadium and is today one of the main venues in which the Sri Lankan cricket team play...
, Colombo in April 1997.
He also umpired 13 One-day Internationals between 1991 and 1998. Apart from 5 ODIs in Sharjah in October 1991 as part of the Wills Trophy, and the remaining 8 were all played in Sri Lanka. In the final of the Wills Trophy between India and Pakistan in Sharjah on 25 October 1991, he gave three consecutive leg before wicket
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
decisions against Indian batsmen (Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri
Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri is a former Indian cricketer and captain. He was an all–rounder who batted right-handed and bowled left arm spin. His international career started when he was 18 years old and lasted for 12 years...
, Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin also known as Azhar, is an Indian politician and former cricketer. He was an accomplished batsman and captained the Indian cricket team for much of the 1990s, until his involvement in a match-fixing scandal forced him into retirement...
, Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
), and Pakistan bowler Aaqib Javed
Aaqib Javed
Aaqib Javed is a Pakistani cricketer and coach. He was a right-handed medium-fast pace bowler with the ability to swing the ball both ways. He played 22 Tests and 163 One Day Internationals for Pakistan between 1988 and 1998.He was educated at Islamia College Lahore.Aaqib's best performances in...
achieved the seventh ever ODI hat-trick and ultimately world record match bowling figures of 7-37 which were not beaten for 9 years.
He died in Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
.
External links
- Profile at CricinfoCricinfoESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...
- Umpire Udaya Wickramasinghe dies at 70, Cricinfo, 15 April 2010