New Delhi: Having spent over four decades in cricket in various capacities, recently retired International Cricket Council match referee David Boon believes the pace of the game is an issue that needs serious addressal.
The shortest format of T20s takes over three hours to ve completed while ODIs take around eight hours and Tests stretches for five days, with action for six hours a day.
But due to delay on completion of overs, matches often tend to extend for much longer periods of time, with fines, field restrictions and over reductions in place to act punishments. But they often seem inadequate to curb spilling of matches into extra time.
“I’m not sure about the over rates, whether we’ve got that right. Pace of play can be an issue,” Boon said in a video posted on X by the ICC.
“I’d hope from an administrative point of view we have a massive umbrella over cricket, and every nation looks at themselves as being under that umbrella form rather than their own little pieces of turf.”
David Boon sums up an iconic 14-year journey as an ICC Match Referee 🤩🗣️ pic.twitter.com/eLr2oGZnUm
— ICC (@ICC) May 1, 2025
A top-rated batter for Australia with with 13,386 international runs and 26 centuries across 12 years, Boon became an Australian national selector for 11 years from 2000 during which their men’s team won two ICC World Cups and two Champions Trophy titles.
The 64-year-old then became a match referee and officiated in 87 Tests, 183 ODIs and 119 T20Is and seven women’s T20Is in a 14-year career that ended with the conclusion of the Test match between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
“I think there are challenges that you have to meet everyday. You learn something everyday. I suppose there are certain things that are a bit more confronting, I found,” he said, reflecting on his tenure as match referee.
“When I first started one of those (challenges) was ball tampering which I found very confronting… To basically accuse somebody of not doing the right thing.”
“And when there is a security and safety issue they were extremely challenging. One sadly here in Dhaka, Bangladesh and one in Christchurch, but you worked through it… You take 10 deep breaths and off you go,” Boon said, while speaking of the Mosque attack in New Zealand in March 2019.
Boon is set to join Cricket Australia (CA) as director and is looking forward to continue his association with the sport.
Former Australia batter David Boon officiated in 87 Tests, 183 ODIs and 119 T20Is and seven women’s T20Is in a 14-year career as the ICC match referee Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
