No Aleem Dar in World Cup final

Pakistani umpire supposedly sacked for erratic decisions; Dharmasena and Kettleborough chosen for on-field duties

MELBOURNE/KARACHI: Three times ICC's best umpire award winner Aleem Dar has not been included in the panel for the final of the 2015 World Cup between New Zealand and Australia in Melbourne on March 29.

It is believed that he was excluded from the list for his two erratic decisions in the World Cup matches.

He signalled an above-waist-height no-ball when Rohit Sharma was caught on a Rubel Hossein delivery in the quarter-final between India and Bangladesh.

His decision received a lot of criticism from the Bangladeshi fans. The ICC Bangladeshi President Mustafa Kamal also made a point out of Aleem's decision.

Aleem also made headlines during the Australia-England clash in the group matches. He gave James Taylor LBW while the batsman reviewed the decision and it was overturned. However, Taylor and James Anderson ran for a single during the appeal and Glenn Maxwell caught Anderson short of his crease with a direct throw and Kumar Dharmasena gave it out.

According to the rules, the ball is considered to be dead when the umpire has given a batsman out on LBW and there remains no other option of accounting for the batsman.

The ICC defended the umpire's decision on the first occassion where Aleem was accompanied by Ian Gould, but in the latter case they accepted the mistake made by the on-field umpires.

Aleem Dar has faced a similar situation in the 2007 World Cup when the final was continued even after bad light. As a repercussion, he was excluded from the umpiring panel of the 2007 World Twenty-20.

Dharmasena and Kettleborough to stand in World Cup final

Sri Lanka's Kumar Dharmasena and England's Richard Kettleborough will be the on-field umpires for Sunday's World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand in Melbourne, the International Cricket Council said Friday.

Marais Erasmus of South Africa will be the television umpire, with Sri Lanka's Ranjan Madugalle the match referee.

Both Dharmasena and Kettleborough stood in Australia's 95-run semi-final win over defending champions India at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday where they both intervened, at different stages, to prevent an escalation of sledging as tempers became frayed.

Erasmus was the television umpire in that match as well.

England's Ian Gould, who stood in the first semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa, will be the reserve official for the final.

Australia's Rod Tucker, Gould's on-field colleague at Auckland's Eden Park, was ruled out of a role in the final after Michael Clarke's men beat India at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

World Cup final match officials

Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI), Richard Kettleborough (ENG)

TV umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA)

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)