The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed that Enamul Haque Moni will stand in the one-off Test between New Zealand and Zimbabwe at McLean Park in Napier from January 26.
Moni will become the first Bangladeshi to be the on-field umpire in the game’s highest version. Australian Rod Tucker will be his partner in the middle while Englishman Nigel Llong will be the TV umpire and Australia’s David Boon the match referee. This group will also conduct the three-match one-day series.
“I am definitely very pleased. Ever since I began umpiring in 2003, I have always wanted to stand in a Test match,” he said in an instant reaction yesterday.
Fellow international umpire Nadir Shah congratulated Moni on his rise as an umpire. “I am very happy that he has become a Test umpire. He is as good as anybody in the world. I am sure he will do well,” he said.
Sharfuddowla Ibne Shahid Saikat, the third Bangladeshi on the international panel, was also pleased and pointed out that it would help umpires in the country.
“Definitely I’m very happy. As Moni bhai goes up a step, so do all of us. One must also remember that he has gone there due to his on-field performance,” said the former cricketer.
Moni has stood in 36 ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals. He was also the first from the country to stand as a neutral umpire in a one-day international when he stood in the South Africa-Zimbabwe three-match series in October 2010.
As a left-arm spinner, Moni has played 10 Test matches (over 2001-03) and 29 ODIs for Bangladesh from 1990 till January 2002. Apart from the international career, Moni was a dependable all-rounder for the country during its time as an Associate Nation.
Moni will leave for New Zealand on January 19.
