First couple umpire together in ECB match today

Umpires Naeem Ashraf and Jasmine Naeem will make history today (Saturday) when they become the first husband and wife to officiate together at a professional England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) fixture, reports ESPNcricinfo.

The pair will travel from their Blackburn home to oversee the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy match between Lightning and Western Storm at Loughborough.

It will cap a remarkable two weeks for the duo, who celebrated their 23-year wedding anniversary just days before Jasmine was one of five umpires at the women's LV= Insurance Test between England and South Africa in Taunton.

"We've done it together in leagues in Lancashire and Greater Manchester and nobody's realised that we were married," Jasmine said. "Now we're honoured that we're getting this opportunity on such a big stage."

Naeem, a former Pakistan international in his playing days, says news of their appointments have spread back to the country of his birth.

"Everyone is very proud and it's really, really good for our community," he said. "I want to give something back to cricket and umpiring is my way of doing that. When my mum found out we were going to stand together, she and my brother - who's also a first-class umpire in Pakistan - were extremely excited."

The pair started umpiring when injury curtailed Naeem's playing career.

"We went through a hard period in our lives, but we recovered by Naeem going into umpiring," Jasmine said. "He didn't want to leave the game. It's the same for all of us, isn't it? We want to be a part of it.