Well-known South African umpire Shaun George has announced his retirement from the game after an illustrious 20-year career.
George stood in his final match on Tuesday this week during the third T20 international between West Indies and the Proteas – a seven-run victory for the tourists at the Wanderers.
Born 55 years ago, George wrapped up his career with 50 T20Is and 60 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), the last of which came between Namibia and Nepal in Windhoek in December.
“Everyone reaches a stage where they know they’ve had enough and I’m now at that point,” said George in a Cricket South Africa (CSA) press statement.
“It’s time to hand the baton over and give other guys the opportunity.”
According to the statement, he has also officiated in over 100 first-class matches, 171 List A or one-day games, and 206 T20s.
He was also involved in 26 women’s ODIs and 21 T20s, officiating in five ICC Women’s World Cups, which included being the standing umpire when England played India at Lord’s in the 2017 Women’s World Cup final.
George reflected that his most memorable moment came in 2011 when he officiated the first ODI between SA and Australia at his home ground, St George’s Park.
“Overall, I must say, however, that I was afforded a wonderful opportunity through cricket and I am extremely grateful for it. When I started out, I never expected to get to so many Internationals, not forgetting all the local and domestic games I stood in both at home and internationally,” said George.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the world through cricket, I’ve been fortunate enough to officiate in international matches.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy what I’ve been provided with and I mean, there’s plenty of guys that may not get to do what I did, so I’m really just thankful to have been involved in something that I love.”
As part of a CSA exchange programme, George also got to stand in domestic cricket matches in New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and India.
Looking at the future, he said he’s going to do work with the ICC Africa branch at the moment where he is an educator for them, helping to train umpires in Africa starting in April.
“There’s obviously so much experience and so much that I’ve achieved. I’d like to share that with everyone that wants it really. I want people to benefit from me as a mentor or an advisor, just so that we can assist in bringing them through,” he concluded.
Main Image: Shaun George/News24
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