Ranjan Madugalle reaches the magic '200 mark' in ODIs

Georgetown, Guyana Mar 31 (UNI) Former Sri Lankan skipper and chief match referee of the Elite Panel of ICC, Ranjan Madhugale became the first match referee in the history of the game to officiate in 200 One-day Internationals.

Ranjan reached the milestone after officiating in the England-Ireland Super Eight match yesterday, thus moving way ahead of the next most experienced match referee in line, former West Indies batsman Clive Lloyd, who has till date officiated in 133 ODIs.

''I am happy that I have been able to discharge my duties in a professional way for the past few years. It has been a fascinating experience graduating from being a player to being a match official and it has been great to work with different umpires, top captains and everyone involved with this great game,'' said an emotional Madhugale after receiving a special momento from the ICC chief Malcom Speed just before the start of his 200th match.

The former Sri Lankan batsman, who has palyed 21 Test matches and 65 ODIs during his ten years tenure of international cricket starting from 1979 to 1989, further said that he was honoured to have been part of cricket's transitional phase, during which the match referee's profile have increased from an enforcer of palyers' on-field behaviour to effectively being chief executive of the match.

''As a referee I have always tried to perform my duties with passion and commitment. I count myself as being very fortunate to have witnessed some of the best players in action and able to remain closely involved in cricket long after my own playing days.'' The ICC president Percy Sonn also congratulated Ranjan on his milestone achievement and said, ''Ranjan has always been a great ambassador for cricket, both in the way that he played the game and now as our chief referee.'' The former Sri Lankan national selector, who has been working as a match referee since 1994, has officiated in the last two World Cup finals. He is regarded as one of the most experienced and highly respected official in the game and has 94 Test matches under his belt.

UNI