Nowadays, people act strange when someone tells them that Umpire was a great player at that time. Nothing is wrong with this statement because many players start umpiring. But first of all, we have to know what the umpire is. In cricket, a referee is a person who has the authority to decide events on the cricket field according to the laws of cricket. The Umpire decides the legality of delivery, appeals for wickets, and general conduct of the game in a legal manner, the umpire also keeps a record of the deliveries and announces the completion of an over. Traditionally, cricket matches have two referees on the field, one standing at the end where the bowler delivers the balls and one directly opposite the facing batsman. However, in the modern game, there may be more than two umpires. For example, Test matches have four. Two on-field umpires, the third umpire with access to video replays, and a fourth umpire who looks after the match balls intake out the drinks for the on-field referees. Here are the Top 10 cricketers who start their careers in umpiring.

1. Charles Bannerman

Charles Bannerman was one of the three survivors of the twenty-two players who took part in what, according to records at present, was the first test Test match between England and Australia. Only those whose memories go back many years can recall this wonderful batsman. In his day, he was the best in Australia. His stance is well, he is a master of nearly every stroke. It was 15 March 1877, and Australia and England played what became known as the first Test match ever. Opening the innings for Australia, Bannerman ended the day unbeaten on 126 in his team's 166/6 and scored 165 in Australia's 245 before retiring hurt. He scored 4 in the second innings as Australia won by 45 runs and went on to play two more tests. Ten years, after making his test debut as a player, Bannerman made his Test debut as a player, Bannerman made his Test debut as a player, and Bannerman made his Test debut as an umpire and officiated in 12 matches.

2. Mark Benson

A good player of fast bowling, the left-handed opener was a regular part of the Kent set-up for 15 seasons, scoring 18,387 first-class runs overall in 292 matches at an average of 40.23. He got his Test debut against India in 1986 and made 30 and 21 in many hours of gritty batting. That, however, was his only Test appearance, and he played just one ODI. And after retiring in 1995, Benson turned to Umpire becoming part of the International Cricket Council's Elite Panel and officiating in 27 tests, 72 ODIs, and 19 Twenty20 Internationals.

3. John Hampshire

John Hampshire was an attractive middle-order batsman, courageous and primarily front- footed, and an excellent close fielder. The Englishman became the first to score a century on his test debut Lord's against the Windies in 1969. Still, he failed to build on that beautiful start despite being an attractive stroke player who plied his trade with Yorkshire, Tasmania, and Leicestershire for many years. Hampshire played eight Test matches, tallying 403 runs, including two half-centuries to go with that only hundred. In his domestic cricket he scored 28,059 runs from 577 matches at an average of 34.55. He retired in 1984 and made his appearance as a Test umpire five years later, officiating in 21 Tests and 20 one-day internationals.

4. Peter Willey

A right-handed top-order batsman and off-spin bowler, Willey was England's go-to man whenever the Windies were around, and he ended up playing 15 of his 26 Tests against the feared opponents between 1976 and 1986. He also played 26 ODIs. Willeys' most incredible quality was perhaps his grit, which was on both sides against the Windies. His 559 first-class appearances resulted in 24,361 runs and 756 wickets. In 1996, he officiated his first Test and ended up umpiring in 25 Tests and 34 ODIs.

5. Ian Gould (wk)

Gould, a wicket-keeper batsman who played over two decades of first-class and List-A cricket, ended up playing no Test cricket and only 18 ODIs, including in the ICC Cricket World Cup 1983. He was part of an Ashes Test though, coming on as a substitute in Melbourne in the 1982-83 series. He was a solid performer, with 603 dismissals in first-class cricket and 279 dismissals in List-A cricket, with 8756 and 4377 runs in the two formats, respectively. He turned to coach after retirement and then umpiring and has gone on to officiate in 65 Tests, 125 ODIs, and 37 T20Is.

6. James Lillywhite Jnr

Coming from a significant 19th-century cricketing family, with many of his relatives playing first- class cricket. Lillywhite then 35, was named captain in the first-ever Test match in 1877. Still, that series was his only brush with Test cricket, as the left-arm spinner and hard-hitting batter ended with eight wickets and just 16 runs. Playing first-class cricket for 23 years with Sussex, Lillywhite hut 5523 runs and bagged 1210 wickets, later turned out as Umpire in Six Test matches between 1882 and 1899.

7. Ashoka de Silva

The most successful Sri Lankan umpire in terms of appearance in International cricket, de silva is probably a better-known official than a cricketer, even though he played 19 Tests and 28 ODIs between 1985 and 1992. A useful leg-spinner and lower-order batsman, de silva scored 323 international runs and licked up 25 wickets. He officiated in his first international game- an ODI between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Galle in 1999 - just two years after his last first-class appearance and was a part of 49 Tests and 122 ODIs - including at the 2003 and 2007 ICC Cricket World Cups - and 11 T20Is, the last of them in June 2012.

8. Kumar Dharmasena

One of the regulars in Sri Lanka's outstanding ODI team of the mid- 1990s, Dharmasena formed a part of the skin pack led by Muttiah Muralitharan, using his quick and accurate off-spinners to good effect in 31 Tests and 141 ODIs between 1993 and 2004. He turned to the Umpire after retiring from all game formats in 2006. So far, he has officiated in 53 Tests and 84 ODIs, along with 22 T20Is matches. He officiated in the opening ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 game and was one of the umpires for the final ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. He is also the only cricketer-turned- umpire to win the ICC's David Shepherd Trophy, given to the umpire of the year in 2012.

9. Paul Reiffel

The Australian right-arm pacer was known for hitting awkward lengths and his ability to move the ball off the pitch both ways, making him a difficult bowler to read. He appeared in 127 international matches - 35 Tests and 92 ODIs, picking up 210 wickets overall. A decent lower- order batsman, Reiffel ended his six half-centuries in Tests and one in ODIs. In 2009, he returned to the international fold as an umpire and had a successful career, appearing in 36 Tests, 54 ODIs, and 16 T20Is since.

10. Srinivas Venkataraghavan ( c )

One of the members of the great Indian spin department, the off-spinner was accurate and effective, picking up 156 wickets in 57 Tests. He played his first Test in 1965. He also captained India at the 1975 and 1979 ICC Cricket World Cups and after a long gap following his retirement in 1985, he officiated in his first game in 1993 after a short stint as an ICC match referee. He went o to officiate in 73 Tests and 52 ODIs, becoming one of the most respected umpires in the game before retiring in 2004.