India vs Australia, Sydney Test: Claire Polosak becomes first female match official in men's Test match

IND vs AUS, 3rd Test: Australia's Claire Polosak became the first female match official in a men's Test match when she took up the fourth umpire's role in the Sydney Test on Thursday.

Fourth umpire Claire Polosak

Australia's Claire Polosak became the first female match official in a men's Test match when she took up the fourth umpire's role in the third Test between India and Australia on Thursday.

The 32-year-old from New South Wales had, earlier, already earned the distinction of being the first woman on-field umpire in a men's ODI match during ICC's Division 2 league between Namibia and Oman played at the Windhoek in 2019.

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At the Sydney Cricket Ground, the on-field umpires are two former pacers Paul Reiffel and Paul Wilson while the TV Umpire is Bruce Oxenford. The match referee is David Boon of Australia.

As per ICC rules for Test matches, the fourth umpire is appointed by the home cricket board from their nominees to the International Panel of ICC Umpires.

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Polosak, who is a resident of New South Wales's Goulburn city, has also had the distinction of being the first female match official in a men's List A game in Australia.

Duties of the fourth umpire

The duties of a fourth umpire include bringing on the new ball, carrying drinks on to the field for the umpires, checking the batteries in the light meter, observing the pitch during the lunch and tea intervals to make sure there is no interference, and bringing on new bails.

The fourth umpire can also take over the third umpire's position if something happens to one of the on-field umpires, in which case the third umpire takes over on-field duties. (With PTI inputs)

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