Simon Taufel

Calcutta: Simon Taufel has created more than just a flutter, by saying he was keeping options open after March 31, but the No. 1-ranked umpire has no plans to “walk away” from cricket.

“Oh, I don’t intend to walk away... A journalist asked if I would officiate in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) and I replied that it was a possibility... My availability has been sought and, in turn, I’ve sought clarifications,” Taufel told The Telegraph.

Speaking from Sydney on Tuesday, the 37-year-old Taufel added: “My contract with the International Cricket Council (ICC) ends on March 31 and, obviously, I’d like to look at options... The IPL has official sanction, but I accept that the ICC (assignments) will have to come first...”

According to Taufel, he’ll be guided by three factors: Job satisfaction, earning enough so that the “bills are paid” and getting quality time with the family — wife Helen, sons Harry and Jack and infant daughter Sophie.

Options for the Elite Panel star, who played at the colts level for New South Wales, include working with institutions such as Cricket Australia and the Board of Control for Cricket in India to improve the quality of emerging umpires and doing a John Buchanan. Mentoring, in other words.

Taufel didn’t wish to comment, but some of those closest to him indicated he “wasn’t comfortable” with the treatment meted out to fellow-Australian Darrell Hair after The Oval fiasco of August 2006 and, more recently, Jamaican Steve Bucknor.

What Taufel did say was that “every effort” should be made to help the umpires get better in their trade.

Asked if the increased scrutiny by the media made him and his colleagues uneasy and added to their pressure, Taufel answered: “I wouldn’t put it that way but, today, the improvement in broadcast technology has made the stakeholders less forgiving...

“Personally, I’m a traditionalist (on the use of more technology)... The expectations have risen and the stakeholders expect perfection... That, however, isn’t possible all the time... Excellence, of course, is...”

Taufel hasn’t yet been offered a fresh contract by the ICC, but that’s not because the world body is in two minds.

Far from it.

“The reason, actually, is that the four-member selection committee to choose the Elite Panel umpires hasn’t been constituted. It will be a first for the ICC and should be in place by the end of this month,” pointed out ICC general manager (cricket) Dave Richardson.

According to the former South African gloveman, who was contacted in Dubai, the selection of the umpires will be done “very soon” after the committee has been constituted.

Ex-players and umpires are expected to sit on the committee. The ICC, by the way, has already decided to increase the Elite Panel from 10 to 12.

“Simon is among the best, if not the best umpire... It’s not a question of if but when he’ll be offered a fresh contract,” Richardson added.

Taufel’s existing contract, which ends on March 31, came into effect two years ago. For the record, he has been adjudged the best from 2004, when the ICC instituted annual awards.

Footnote: Hair’s future (“he’s somewhat of a special case,” remarked Richardson) will be determined by the ICC’s Executive Board, which meets next month. Incidentally, Bucknor’s contract also comes up for renewal. So, interesting times are ahead.