Gaffaney joins an elite cricket club

Otago umpire Chris Gaffaney is set to achieve an outstanding milestone in his cricketing life when standing in his 50th Test match at Lord's for the second Ashes Test of the summer.

Gaffaney, a former Otago first-class player and New Zealand Under-19 representative will become only the second New Zealander, after Billy Bowden, to reach the milestone, Bowden having stood in 84 Tests.

He completed 83 first-class games as a player, scoring 4711 runs at an average of 33.41, including eight centuries with a highest score of 194, and played 113 List A [50 over] games scoring 2411 runs at a strike rate of 76.68.

But after opting to get into umpiring, he has also stood in 77 ODIs and 43 T20 internationals.

He stood in the men's Cricket World Cups in 2015 and 2019 and the Men's T20 World Cups in 2016, 2021 and 2022.

His first Test was between Zimbabwe and South Africa in Harare in 2014, a year before he was included in the ICC's elite panel of umpires.

Unsurprisingly, he is thrilled to be achieving his 50th Test at Lord's.

"It's a tremendous honour to reach 50 Tests, and it is made even more special since it will be at the home of cricket. I feel very lucky.

"To be only the second New Zealander in the history of the game to do this is something I'm very proud of. I never thought I'd do one, let alone 50."

Gaffaney acknowledged the support of his wife, Sarah, and his first umpire manager at NZ Cricket, Rodger McHarg.

"When I took my first steps into umpiring, he was always there to encourage, help and direct me on the path I walk today.

"Also massive thanks to all my umpiring colleagues. Umpiring is an extremely challenging job which is made all the more enjoyable with the quality people I've had the privilege of working with."

The ICC manager of Umpires and Referees, Sean Easey, said: "Chris is a respected team member and has been on our elite panel for nearly a decade. An achievement like this is special and a credit to his consistently strong performances.

"Hopefully, this Test milestone is one of many to come."