Cricket umpire Billy Doctrove arriving for the ICC Code of Conduct hearing at the Oval cricket ground in London on September 27. - reuters

bridgetown, barbados,(cmc)

ICC elite umpire Billy Doctrove of Dominica is conspicuously missing from the panel of officials to stand in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy that opens tomorrow in India.

The ICC yesterday announced match referee and umpiring appointments for the Champions Trophy.

Doctrove, who stood with Australia-born umpire Darrell Hair in the controversial fourth and final Test between England and Pakistan, has not been included, but he is not entirely surprised.

"I am not really disappointed because I was told even before I went up to England for the ball-tampering hearing that all the umpires would not be involved, and they told me that I would not be involved," Doctrove told CMC Radio Sports yesterday.

Central role

"It was a situation where everybody could not have been involved for the Champions Trophy and it was unfortunate that I was left off.

"The ICC has given me the guarantee that I am still on the élite panel and so I will take this on board, and trust the ICC."

Hair played a central role in the ball-tampering incident that prompted Pakistan to forfeit the Test, and his absence was confirmed last week on grounds of security concerns.

Hair and Doctrove are the only two umpires from the 10-member élite panel to have been overlooked.

"The last time I was appointed to the umpires' panel for the Champions Trophy, I was not a member of the élite panel," Doctrove said.

"I have realised that everyone cannot be involved with every competition so I have just taken it on board and accepted it and moved on.

"I am looking forward to my next appointment for the rest of the year which will be made some time later this month, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to go out there and continue my umpiring career."

Doctrove was promoted to the élite panel earlier this year, but he has stood in nine Tests and 56 limited-overs internationals, and acknowledged that the last six weeks were very tough mentally.

"It was the first time I was exposed to that kind of media coverage, but you can only look at these kinds of situations and learn from them," he said.

True colours

"They say that a man shows his true colours when he faces adversity. I just want to accept all this as a learning experience. I will let it help me to be not only a better umpire, but a better person."

The eight umpires named are all from the élite panel of ICC umpires and includes the long-standing Steve Bucknor of Jamaica.

The three match referees are selected from the élite panel of ICC Referees and include Mike Procter, who was on duty during the forfeited Test, and Ranjan Madugalle, the ICC's Chief Match Referee, who supervised the ball-tampering hearing.

The appointments of officials cover 16 of the 21 matches in the 30-day tournament that is taking place at four venues - Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mohali, and the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai - and ends on November 5.

The officials for the matches between England and Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad on October 28, and India and Australia in Mohali on October 29, as well as the two semi-finals (November 1 in Mohali and November 2 in Jaipur) and the final will be made and announced in due course.