Exclusive Interview with Daryl Harper

Since officiating his first international cricket match in 1994, an ODI between New Zealand and South Africa at Perth, Aussie Daryl Harper has gone on to become one of the most recognizable figures in the world game. Amongst the inaugural inductees of the ICC Elite Umpires Panel, Harper is one of the world’s most experienced umpires, with his tally of total number of matches officiated second only to Rudi Koertzen amongst the umpires still a part of the game. Daryl took some time out of his busy schedule (he’s currently in South Africa for the IPL) for this exclusive interview with TheSportsCampus.com.

Q. There was a lot of confusion over the past couple of months in the build-up to the IPL, especially after the Lahore attacks. Now of course it’s been shifted to South Africa but, prior to that decision being made, were you nervous at the thought of coming to India, like the number of players who expressed their fears?

A. I was never nervous about returning to India for the IPL. Last December, I returned to India less than a week after the Mumbai attack. In fact, my return flight took me into Mumbai where I had to grab a tuk-tuk to move from the international terminal to the domestic terminal without any security. At both venues in Chennai and Chandigarh, security was extremely well organized, so I never had any concerns about returning to India for cricket. Read More