Nottinghamshire’s Sue Redfern is one of five fresh faces added to the newly-established Professional Umpires’ Team, who will officiate in domestic men’s and women’s matches across England and Wales moving forward.
Members of the team will be available to stand in women’s (regional competitions and The Hundred) and men’s (County Second XI, Royal London Cup, Vitality Blast, The Hundred and the LV= Insurance County Championship) professional cricket from the start of the new season.
The England and Wales Cricket Board announced that all members of the Professional Umpires’ Team will have the support to allow them to concentrate solely on umpiring as a career.
Redfern - formerly a player for England and Kimberley Cricket Club - became the first female to officiate in an England men’s home international after being named fourth umpire for the opening Vitality IT20 against Sri Lanka in June 2021.
Originally from Mansfield, she has engaged extensively with the community game in Nottinghamshire as the ECB’s representative on funding and facilities.
Currently in New Zealand officiating in the Women’s World Cup, Redfern said: “For the first time, I can focus all my energy on umpiring as a career. This is my first full-time contract as an umpire.
“That means a lot to me as it allows me to challenge myself to take the next step in my career. There will undoubtedly be new challenges I will face in this role – ones I am really excited about facing.
“I am ready to stand in men’s and women’s matches and to do whatever it takes to learn, to get better and to establish myself in the professional game environment.”
She will continue to be available to officiate women’s international cricket in addition to the opportunities her appointment to the Professional Umpires’ Team will provide.
Naeem Ashraf, Anthony Harris, Surendiran Shanmugam and Jack Shantry join Redfern on the new 34-person Professional Umpires’ Team, which has been established following an independent review into officiating carried out last year.
The independent review sought to understand how the ECB can continue to best attract, appoint, develop, performance manage and evaluate match officials from all backgrounds.
ECB Managing Director of County Cricket, Neil Snowball, said: “The appointment of these five umpires is richly deserved for their consistently high performances over recent times.
“The ECB has a long history of developing some of the best match officials in the world and we are at a point, after the independent review into officiating last year, where we have opportunity to drive change to be better.
“We are making good progress on that journey and these appointments are important steps as we establish a clearer and fairer pathway for anyone who wants to be an umpire.
“Additionally, we are close to finalising further contracts for a group of female umpires so they can be better supported from both a performance and financial perspective."