Five local umpires have been appointed to the ICC Americas Regional panel, the Bermuda Cricket Board announced yesterday.

Roger Dill, Steven Douglas, Oscar Andrade, Emmerson Carrington and Melvin Best are now eligible to officiate matches in the region.

Andrade and Best are on the panel for the first time, with 13 umpires on the panel from Bermuda, the United States, Canada, Belize and the Cayman Islands.

Douglas, president of the BCB Association, said: “On behalf of the officers and members of the Bermuda Cricket Umpires Association, I would like to congratulate those who are selected to serve on the panel.

“These selections are a testament to the hard work done by training officer Roger Dill. Special congratulations to Oscar Andrade and Melvin Best as this is their first time on an umpire panel.

“I trust that we will represent Bermuda well and will be sure to use this experience to give back to the aspiring umpires looking to develop their career further.”

Lloyd Smith, president of the BCB, said: “It is with great pleasure to note that five out of the 13 umpires chosen to be on the new panel are from Bermuda.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our umpires to gain valuable international experience and use this new pathway created by ICC Americas to assist them to be selected to the ICC International Umpire panel.

“On behalf of the board, I congratulate the Bermuda Cricket Umpires Association and all five of the umpires on these appointments and hope others will aspire to follow in their footsteps.”

Also on the panel are Sameer Bandekar and Vijay Mallela, from the US, Harry Grewal, Brijal Patel, Vishal Sudhalkar and Arnold Maddela, from Canada, Dwight Gabb, Belize and Courtney Young from Cayman Islands.