Why is Ian Howell umpiring?

You can find out about any player or official on Cricinfo - the home of cricket! Here is Ian Howell's profile - he is South African for those concerned by his nationality.

However, I'm a bit confused on this one. Ian Howell isn't on Cricinfo's list of elite panel umpires and referees, but the ICC's list of "international panel" umpires show Ian Howell as the umpire for South Africa. This group is different (and one assumes less skilled) to the ICC's list of elite panel umpires - the ICC suggest that "...two umpires from the Emirates Elite Panel stand in almost all Test matches around the world...".

So I think I understand now. Umpires all make mistakes - I think we can take that as a given as Taufel made a few in the last couple of Test matches and he is considered the best umpire in the world. But the ICC has appointed an umpire from their equivalent of "division 2" for a series involving India. That has to be ill-considered surely? India - the powerhouse behind cricket globally with a pupulation of 1.1 billion people, who's population aren't backward in coming forward when there are issues on the field that upset them. I'm not condoning the burning of effigies or any other gross over-reaction to things that happen on the cricket field, but if I were the ICC I might have made sure I had my top-level umpires scheduled to umpire matches involving India.

I wouldn't like to be Ian Howell walking out today, knowing you have 4 more days to go, having made 2 more clangers yesterday. If he does make any more though, you know where they will be listed (once I have caught up - the frequency of wrong decisions makes it tricky to keep up!) - Cricket Burble "wrong" decisions.