Marais Erasmus: who is he? Unpopular Ashes umpire causes controversy in the cricketing community
For his selection as the third umpire in the second Ashes test between England and Australia, Marais Erasmus, a former South African player who is now an international cricket umpire, is making news. His plea for England’s Johnny Bairstow to have a “run out” has drawn notice from all across the world and drawn harsh rebuke.
Let’s examine Marais Erasmus first before diving into the contentious issue. From 1988/89 until 1996/97, Erasmus represented Boland in first-class cricket. He was well-known for his abilities as a fast-medium bowler and lower-order batsman.
Notably, he batted at position seven during the 1991–92 season and had a best score of 103 not out. He also had his finest bowling performance during the same season, recording a 6/22 against the visiting New Zealand cricket side. Unfortunately, the unsafe field forced the game to be called off.
In the 2002–03 cricket season in South Africa, Erasmus began his career as an umpire. In a T20I match between South Africa and Australia that was played at Johannesburg’s New Wanderers Stadium in February 2006, he made his debut as an international umpire.
Erasmus just accomplished a notable milestone by overseeing his 100th One-Day International (ODI) as an on-field umpire during the inaugural match between South Africa and India in January 2022. Following this accomplishment, Erasmus received still another honour when he was elected the ICC Umpire of the Year for 2021.
At the Gymkhana Club Ground in Nairobi, during a game between Kenya and Canada, he had his maiden ODI umpiring experience in 2007. In 2008, Erasmus was given the honour of joining the International Panel of ICC Umpires in recognition of his competence. Since then, he has faithfully officiated matches in all three types of international cricket.
However, his most recent judgement during the Ashes test has caused a huge commotion in the cricketing world, with several top players publicly criticising the call.
