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It’s a tough job being a cricket umpire with lots of travelling and the pressure to keep making the right decisions on the pitch. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how much the officials get paid.
Elite International Cricket Umpire Salary – Top 10 ICC Cricket Umpire Earnings
| Umpire | ODI | Test Match | T20 | ICC | Annual Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleem Dar | $3 000 | $5 000 | $1 500 | $3 000 | $100 000 |
| Chris Gaffaney | $3 000 | $5 000 | $1 500 | $3 000 | $100 000 |
| Joel Wilson | $3 000 | $5 000 | $1 500 | $3 000 | $100 000 |
| Bruce Oxenford | $3 000 | $5 000 | $1 500 | $3 000 | $100 000 |
| Marais Erasmus | $3 000 | $5 000 | $1 500 | $3 000 | $100 000 |
| Kumar Dharmasena | $3 000 | $5 000 | $1 500 | $3 000 | $100 000 |
| Michael Gough | $3 000 | $5 000 | $1 500 | $3 000 | $100 000 |
| Nigel Llong | $3 000 | $5 000 | $1 500 | $3 000 | $100 000 |
| Richard Illingworth | $3 000 | $5 000 | $1 500 | $3 000 | $100 000 |
| Paul Reiffel | $3 000 | $5 000 | $1 500 | $3 000 | $100 000 |
Aleem Dar
One of the busiest umpires on the international circuit, Aleem Dar is a respected official who has now stood in more than 400 matches worldwide. That’s an incredible amount and the tally stretches all the way back to 2000.
The latest sets of figures show that all the top ten leading umpires have earnings in the region of $100,000 USD. The potential for Aleem Dar to appear in more matches puts him at the top.
Bruce Oxenford
The figure of $100,000 tends to be set for all members of the ICC elite umpire’s panel. There is also a potential to earn more through advertising and private endorsements.
Bruce Oxenford is now only working on domestic cricket in his native Australia so his figures will start to come down.
He is known for the arm guard used to protect himself from flying cricket balls, but he remains a seriously good umpire.
Joel Wilson
From Trinidad and Tobago, Joel Wilson began his umpiring career in 2011 and is now closing in on 200 international matches. He came to prominence at the 2015 World Cup and was promoted to the elite panel four years later.
Chris Gaffaney
New Zealand’s Chris Gaffaney is one of the newest members of the elite panel. He made his name in domestic cricket and was featured regularly at the IPL in 2022.
Marais Erasmus
A no-nonsense umpire, Marais Erasmus doesn’t overexert himself when making signals. He knows that the game isn’t about him, but he still makes his decisions perfectly clear.
Kumar Dharmasena
Of all the umpires ever to be involved in the game, Kumar Dharmasena enjoyed one of the longest playing careers. At international level for Sri Lanka, he played in 172 matches before moving into officiating.
Perhaps that gives him a better insight than others. He’s been corrected by DRS a few times, but Dharmasena has the full respect of the players.
Michael Gough
England’s Michael Gough was a promising young batter who seemed to have a long international career ahead of him. Somehow, he fell out of love with cricket and retired at the age of just 24.
Batting’s loss was umpiring’s gain and Gough has now become one of the most respected officials around the world. He rarely relies on the Decision Review System but, when players do call for DRS, Gough is rarely proved wrong.
Nigel Llong
Nigel Llong enjoyed a long playing career in English domestic cricket and has been umpiring at the highest level since. As of 2022, he had officiated in 224 international games.
Llong is no longer on the ICC elite panel so those salary figures may come down.
Richard Illingworth
A former left arm spinner, Richard Illingworth played in 34 matches for England and he’s another umpire to have featured at the IPL. Illingworth joined the elite panel in 2013 and he stood in his 150th international match in 2022.
Paul Reiffel
The man known as Pop Gun was formerly an effective bowler who would have made more appearances for Australia if he’d played in a different era.
As an umpire, Paul Reiffel made his debut in 2009 and was elevated to the ICC elite panel in 2013.
Cricket Umpire Salaries by Countries
Cricket Umpire Salary in the UK
In the UK, salaries vary more widely than most countries around the world. There is a clear path to the top but, before officials can start to earn elite panel money, they will be claiming a far more modest salary.
At the very basic level, it’s reported that junior umpires may earn as little as £14 an hour. For a first class game, earnings could then be less than £100 per day.
County level umpires may earn $1000 a game but the big money is provided by the ICC Elite Panel and it’s perfectly possible for umpires in the UK to reach that stage.
How much do IPL Cricket Umpires get Paid?
It’s the biggest domestic cricket competition in the world and umpires at the IPL are well rewarded. The latest sets of figures show that every official involved in the tournament will receive a basic salary of $12,000.
Match fees add to the tally and these are reported as being in the region of $3,000 per game.
PSL Umpires 2022 Salary
There are two types of umpires in the Pakistan Super League. Some are on a development programme while others are considered as full time professionals.
Those professionals earn a base salary of $8,500 for the tournament and they will claim $1000 per match. For those on the development team, the base salary drops to $1500 while the match fee is $400.
Conclusion
The salary figures here are insightful and it’s interesting to see that members of the elite panel are largely paid the same salary. Clearly, this is the place to be, and the pressure is on to maintain performance levels and to stay on that panel.
As expected, the fees for umpires in domestic cricket vary depending on the country and the competition that they are officiating in. Overall, these are impressive figures and much higher than many of us might have thought.
