It’s only a matter of time before Marais Erasmus becomes only the third South African umpire to have officiated in 100 one-day internationals.
Only three South African umpires have officiated in 100 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), and Marais Erasmus will do so on Wednesday when the Proteas face India in their opening match of the tour. For the first time in his career, 57-year-old Erasmus, widely regarded as the top umpire in the world, will join the duo of Rudi Koertzen and David Orchard at Boland Park today. Aleem Dar (211) of Pakistan recently overtook Koertzen’s global record of 209 ODIs, which he set between 1992 and 2010, while Orchard umpired 107 matches between 1994 and 2003.
From 2007 onwards, Erasmus has served as a top-level umpire, serving as the man in the middle for 70 Tests, 35 T20 Internationals, and 18 Women’s T20 Internationals.
“I’m ecstatic to have made it to this point in my life.” According to Cricket South Africa, Erasmus was cited as saying: “It’s a tough atmosphere to survive because we’re under scrutiny all the time, so to have gone through that era fills me with pride.”
“We are all servants of the game, but when milestones are hit, we are recognized, which is a lovely thing to see,” Erasmus stated he had no idea he’d play 100 ODIs when his journey began on October 18, 2007, in Nairobi, Kenya, during a game between Kenya and Canada.
Starting out, you don’t have a long-term perspective.” It’s a fresh experience, so you try to relish it while you can. That’s what I’ve done.
In the third and subsequent years, you naturally begin to think about turning 50 or whatever milestone is nearest at hand. It’s great to reach 100, but that wasn’t the plan all along. There is nothing more important than showing up and doing your best work. As he prepares to officiate his 100th ODI, Erasmus says he and his family have made many sacrifices to get to this point. In order to care for their twins, Adele had to quit her career, he added.
As a result of my six-week hiatus during Covid times, she will be spending the holiday season alone this year. However, the job of umpire has provided us with numerous opportunities. There have been more positive experiences than negative ones for our family while we’ve traveled the world. Because “we all have pride in our performance,” he said it’s pleasant to hear positive feedback about his umpiring, but he also acknowledged that there is “a certain degree of expectation” that he must meet.
If we get talked about, it’s usually because we’ve done something wrong. We don’t want it to happen to us.” “I’m just relieved that everything has worked out the way it has.” Is there a certain umpire that Erasmus prefers? While he admits that Test cricket is the most grueling, he also admits that it may be hard on the officials as well.
It’s obviously more difficult to umpire a Test match because of the duration of the games and the pressures that come with it. As a result, it’s more physically demanding, while ODIs and T20Is aren’t.
If you have a bad day in limited-overs, you don’t have to be on the field the next day, but in a Test, you have to come back and that is just psychologically tough, especially if you get off to a horrible start. Five days, as you are well aware, may be taxing.
There are a variety of formats and obstacles, but I’ve had a great time with international cricket thus far. I’m fired up to keep going… The next two or three years are still on the table for me.
