Simon James Arthur Taufel was born on 21 January 1971 and is an Australian former cricket umpire who was earlier a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel.
22 Facts About Simon Taufel
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Simon Taufel won five consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards between 2004 and 2008, and is widely regarded as one of the top 10 greatest umpires of all time.
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Simon Taufel announced his retirement from international cricket on 26 September 2012, after the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 final.
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Simon Taufel subsequently worked as the ICC's Umpire Performance and Training Manager until October 2015.
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Simon Taufel's career was cut short by a back injury.
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Simon Taufel quickly progressed through the ranks and made his first-class debut in 1995, aged just 24.
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Simon Taufel stood in his first One Day International on 13 January 1999 in the match between Australia and Sri Lanka at Sydney when he was 27 years old.
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Simon Taufel became a member of the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires in 2002.
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Simon Taufel was chosen to umpire at the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
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Simon Taufel has been named the top umpire of the year five times, and in August 2006 the ICC's annual umpire review officially ranked second for accuracy, and top overall.
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Simon Taufel umpired in the final of the 2004 Champions Trophy.
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Simon Taufel umpired alongside Aleem Dar in the final of the 2011 Cricket World Cup between Sri Lanka and India, gaining the opportunity to do so after Australia were knocked out by India in the Quarter Finals.
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On 3 March 2009, Simon Taufel was one of the officials caught in the attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team by terrorists in Lahore, Pakistan.
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Simon Taufel quit international cricket after the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, at which he was umpiring at the time.
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Simon Taufel stepped down from cricket's elite panel of umpires to take over a new role as the ICC's Umpire Performance and Training Manager.
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International League T20 : In January 2025, Simon Taufel officiated the opening match of ILT20 Season 3 between Dubai Capitals and MI Emirates.
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Simon Taufel served as a match referee throughout the tournament, alternating with Roshan Mahanama.
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International Masters League : In February 2025, Simon Taufel returned to the field as an umpire for the inaugural International Masters League, a T20 tournament featuring retired cricketing legends.
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Simon Taufel led the umpiring panel alongside Billy Bowden, with Gundappa Viswanath serving as the match referee.
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Simon Taufel won the ICC Umpire of the Year for the first five years of its existence.
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Simon Taufel's winning streak was broken in October 2009, when Aleem Dar of Pakistan won the ICC Umpire of the Year award.
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Simon Taufel is the youngest person to have received the ICC's Bronze Bails Award for umpiring 100 ODIs.