Sri Lanka's Ranjan Madugalle, who was recently appointed the ICC's Chief Referee, will lead a strong team of experienced match officials for the crucial Australia versus South Africa Test series beginning in Adelaide on Friday which will decide the leadership of the ICC Test Championship, the ICC announced.

This is the former Sri Lanka captain's twelfth series as a referee since joining the international panel in 1994.

Srinivas Venkataraghavan (Venkat) from India will stand as the ICC umpire in the first Test in Adelaide, with Eddie Nicholls of the West Indies taking over for the second Test in Melbourne. England's David Shepherd, another vastly experienced international umpire, will take the final Test in Sydney.

Outright leadership of the ICC Test Championship will be at stake in the forthcoming series between the two top placed sides. Australia's recent drawn series with New Zealand stripped the champion team of a point, reducing its series points average from an unassailable 1.62 to 1.54, fractionally ahead of South Africa's 1.50. This means Australia has to win the three match series to maintain its table-topping position.

Any other result would see Shaun Pollock's team claim top spot for the first time since the Championship was officially launched in May this year. Australia won both corresponding home and away series with South Africa four years ago, which is why anything less than a repeat of those performances will see it lose the official position as the best Test side in world cricket. A drawn series would take South Africa to the top of the table with a 1.56 series points average over Australia's 1.46. A win for Pollock's team would open up a significant gap of 1.62 against Australia's 1.38 points.

© BCCSL