Doug Cowie announces his retirement

Doug Cowie, the New Zealand umpire, has announced his retirement. Cowie officiated in 22 Tests, 71 one-day internationals, and more than 100 first-class games in an umpiring career which spanned 20 years, and was one of three New Zealand representatives on the ICC International Panel.

"I am still dedicated to the game and passionate about improving the role of modern umpires in cricket," Cowie stated in a media release. "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."

Brian Aldridge, New Zealand Cricket umpires' manager, reacted by saying, "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."

New Zealand are currently represented by Billie Bowden on the Elite Panel, while Tony Hill and Evan Watkin are the remaining representatives on the International Panel. All Test playing countries have three representatives on the panel, but for now it is unclear who will replace Cowie.