Simon Taufel has decided to resign as the ICC umpires performance and training manager. Confirming October 31 would be Taufel's last date in the job the ICC said it was trying to retain the Australian in an "alternate" role.

"The ICC can confirm that Simon Taufel has resigned from his position as ICC Umpire Performance & Training Manager. However, the ICC is in negotiation with Mr Taufel with regards to a possible alternate role in the organisation and an announcement will be made in due course," an ICC spokesperson said.

Incidentally, Taufel would be officiating as an umpire in the three-game T20 exhibition tour in the USA in November, which is being promoted by Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne. Taufel, along with his former Australian umpiring colleague Steve Davies, and South African Marais Erasmus have been appointed umpires for the three matches to be played in New York (November 7), Houston (November 11) and Los Angeles (November 14).

A role model for up-and-coming umpires, Taufel was adjudged umpire of the year for five years in a row from 2004 to 2008. Taufel stepped down from the Elite Panel after the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in 2012. Since then, he has been mainly focussing on training umpires around the world, and has played a prominent role in the development of Indian umpires in his role as consultant with the BCCI's Umpires Academy in Nagpur.

(ESPN Cricinfo)