Domestic cricket matches in New Zealand to be played without match referees

Tony Hill (right), former ICC umpire, will give inputs to umpires before the move is implemented

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has announced that it’s domestic first-class competition, the Plunket Shield will be played without match referees, ESPNCricinfo reports. Budget cutting has been the reason touted for this move and the duties of the match referees will now be handled by the on-field umpires.

New Zealand have been one of cricket’s financial underdogs with the nation’s cricketers being one of the lowest paid among the major cricketing nations. They were one of the worst affected nations when the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) popped up in 2008 with many of their prominent cricketer’s ditching the national colours to turn up for the T20 league.

The recent development is sure to stoke debate about how cricket’s big three – India, Australia and England – are controlling a major part of the game’s finances.

"If we had more income then we would be able to do all the programmes we wanted, it's just the nature of running a business and trying to compete on world terms with a budget smaller than our competitors,” NZC head of cricket Lindsay Crocker said. "It wasn't a cheap programme given we had to pay them, travel them around and pay for accommodation. It was really disappointing but it was a programme we are simply unable to afford.”

The umpires will receive feedback through reports from the domestic team captains and from NZC umpire & former member of ICC’s elite panel of umpires, Tony Hill, who will travel to select matches. They will also receive assistance from the various associations who hosts the matches with regards to the upkeep of the spirit of the game and the quality of playing conditions.

“We'll be asking the people who host the matches, the major associations, to step up and take responsibility for quality again," Crocker added.

New Zealand co-hosted the 2015 ICC World Cup along with Australia which was an outstanding success but NZC said that they will be safeguarding the money generated from the event for future use as well as for upgrading facilities in the country.

"The World Cup was a one-off, it isn't a matter of making a nest egg and then expending it. We've got to be prudent about that, it gives us an opportunity to sit out any future rainy days and there is also some investment we need to do around facilities. The Cricket World Cup money and the legacy we attach from there is really around capital projects rather than operational ones.”