Who is Simon Taufel?

Born on January 21, 1971 in St Leornard's, New South Wales, Simon Taufel, like many other Aussies wanted to become a cricketer. So, Taufel started his cricket days at the Cammeray Cricket Club, primarily as a medium fast bowler. And that he wasn't bad at it is proven fact - he was the leading wicket taker for the club in the 1990-91 season.

But, in that same season, he received another title - that of the club's 'best and fairest' player. Ironically, for what the world knows Simon Taufel today, it's because he has consistently been fair in awarding decisions, and arguably he is the best in the business.

Moving to umpiring

After a back-injury took him away from the game, Taufel was initially reluctant to go for umpiring. But a little persuasion from a friend, and the urge to be a part of cricket, prompted him to attend an umpiring course. He cleared the subsequent exams and in to time was officiating a first-class game in 1995. He was just 24 then, and there were quite a few players around who were older than him.

Incidentally, it was this mindset that Taufel was going change on the international scenario too. A job that is usually associated with middle-aged pot-bellied men, Taufel have successfully been able to make things look otherwise. His first Test was a Boxing Day Test, where Australia played West Indies at the MCG in 2000, and Taufel quickly showed that good umpiring had nothing to do with age. Earlier, his first ODI was at Sydney in January 1999 when Australia took on Sri Lanka.

Soon, Taufel was being considered one of the finest the game has. The ICC Umpire of the Year award for five consecutive years (2004 to 2008) only reinstated the belief every time. Also, Taufel has remained supremely fit all through his 13 years of top flight umpiring, and was often seen doing the paces at the stadiums, even ahead of the players.

Taufel could have been a natural choice to officiate the World Cup finals in 2004 and 2008. But ironically, Australia featured in all of them and there was no option but to keep him away as neutral umpires officiate in the finals. Though, in the meantime, Taufel got the opportunity to be in the finals of the 2007 ICC World T20, his big chance finally came in 2011, when India lifted the Cup beating Sri Lanka in Mumbai.

His almost-accurate verdicts earned him the tag of one of the most trusted names in umpiring, especially when the cricketing nations are yet to decide the use of DRS and other technology. And this meant long stints away from home and officiating in every cricketing nation. Taufel, of late, had spoken about his desire to be able to spend more time with his family.

Taufel will retire after the ongoing World T20 in Sri Lanka. In all, he has officiated in 342 international matches till now. Here's a lowdown: