Top 5 umpires in ICC Elite Panel 2016-17

#5 Ian Gould

Gould is one umpire who loves to share a laugh with the players and sees the lighter side of things

Ian Gould has been a hard-core sportsperson from the day people started to notice his skills or even before that. Gould, a county veteran, has played 18 ODIs for England and is a respected umpire on the international circuit today.

Ian has played numerous roles in various fields - a former chairman of English football club - Burnham FC, ex-goalkeeper for Arsenal (1971) and Slough Town, former batsman for England cricket team, kept wickets during the 1983 cricket World Cup and now an ICC Elite Panel umpire. In a rare scenario, he is one umpire who loves to share a laugh with the players and sees the lighter side of things.

A genial and popular character, he joined the first-class umpires panel in 2002, was promoted to the international panel in April 2006 and the elite panel three years later in 2009. He is one of the constant umpires in the panel officiating for World Cup matches since 2007.

However, the most controversial of all his judgments was the one where he incorrectly gave Tendulkar out for 99 in a One-Day International in 2007 against England, which he later accepted as a mistake.

Sometimes seen as the most lucrative position to watch the match from, an umpire’s task is sure not an easy one. Because no matter what, the missed 5 percent of error is the one which is remembered and always open to criticism, especially in today's liberate world of social media, where everyone is a judge.

In such cases, all one can do is give a benefit of doubt to people who stand for hours, glare with attention and accept mistakes, if done, on an international platform.