She’ll be the judge
She had served as the TV umpire, but it was in Pietermaritzburg that her aspirations of umpiring at that level finally came true.
KNYSNA - Knysna-based cricket umpire Kerrin Klaaste has been taking the cricket world by storm of late. Most recently, she made her debut in women's one-day internationals (WODI) when she officiated the second WODI between South Africa and New Zealand during the latter's tour of South Africa in September and October.
Kerrin was elected as one of the on-field umpires alongside seasoned umpire Arno Jacobs for the second WODI between the Proteas Women and the White Ferns, which was played at the City Oval Cricket Ground in Pietermaritzburg. The ground is known around the world for having a tree in the outfield within the boundary ropes, and has seen a lot of history over the years.
History was made there once more on 28 September, when Kerrin umpired her first WODI. She had served as the TV umpire in the first, but it was in Pietermaritzburg that her aspirations of umpiring at that level finally came true. "Getting the chance to umpire at this level is something I have always aspired towards, and for this to have finally become a reality is something I will cherish for a very long time," she said proudly.
As every umpire making their debut would hope, controversy stayed far from Kerrin in her first match and her international one-day umpiring career got off to a great start.
She was due to umpire in the T20 series between the two nations too, but rain significantly impacted this series. Kerrin was selected as one of the on-field umpires for the first, third and fifth matches in the T20 series, but it wasn't until the fifth and last match on 15 October that she was able to step onto the field.
While it wasn't her Women's s T20I debut, it was the first time she had been an on-field official for a WT20I between two ICC full-member ull- nations. Kerrin made her WT20I debut ut during the Women's World Cup (WWC) African Qualifiers in early September, where she officiated four WT20I matches including one e of the semi-finals. The teams that took part in the he WWC African Qualifiers are associate members bers of the ICC, and not full members like South uth Africa and New Zealand.
These latest matches are the hallmark of Kerrin's umpiring g career thus far, and truly showcase how far she's come. At the age of 25, she has seen exponential growth in the last 12 months.
A year ago Klaaste was yet to umpire at first class or List A level, and the highest level she'd umpired at was the University Sports South Africa (USSA) A week.
In January 2023 she umpired at the ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup and followed that up with the Legends League Cricket Masters in Qatar in March.
Six months later she made her WT20I debut in the qualifiers, followed by her List A debut in a match between the Garden Route Badgers and the Knights, and finally her WODI debut too.