New Zealand umpire Doug Cowie announced his retirement from the ICC International panel and New Zealand umpiring panels today.
Cowie has been umpiring at the First Class level for 20 years and has umpired at the international level for the past ten years.
He has stood in 22 Tests, 71 One-Day Internationals, including matches at the 1999 World Cup in England, and more than 100 First Class games.
“I am still dedicated to the game and passionate about improving the role of modern umpires in cricket,” he said. “However, the satisfaction gained from the challenges of umpiring no longer outweigh the sacrifices necessary to perform on the field.
“Recent changes to cricket and umpiring have placed greater demands on umpires and I feel the time is right to refocus my priorities,” he said.
New Zealand Cricket umpires manager, Brian Aldridge said Mr Cowie’s retirement would be a loss to cricket both internationally and in New Zealand.
“Doug has been an excellent umpire during a distinguished career. He has made a significant contribution to umpiring in New Zealand and internationally.
“It is important that New Zealanders continue to umpire at the highest level and it will be difficult to fill the gap left by Doug.
“Umpiring at any level takes great commitment and we hope to develop the opportunities available to umpires in New Zealand to ensure that more can reach this level and in the future sustain a living from a career as a professional umpire.”
