Renowned South African umpire Marais Erasmus has concluded his illustrious 26-year career as an official in a domestic List-A match in his home country.
Erasmus, a three-time recipient of the ICC’s Umpire of the Year award (2016, 2017, 2021), oversaw his final game in a modest setting, officiating a domestic 50-over clash between Boland and the Lions in Paarl, South Africa.
Before the match, he humorously mentioned to cricket platform Cricbuzz that his farewell game as an umpire would take place in front of “50 souls and a dog.”
Throughout his tenure, Erasmus officiated in several high-profile matches across various formats, including the notably controversial ICC World Cup final in 2019. He was notably involved in the incident where he declared Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews timed out following an appeal from Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan during their ICC ODI World Cup encounter in 2023.
The 62-year-old umpire has presided over 82 Test matches, 125 ODIs, and 61 T20Is. Additionally, he has served as the third umpire in 131 international fixtures.
