After the 1990–1991 season he won the club's best and fairest award, was leading wicket-taker and had the lowest bowling average in the association.
Taufel stood in his first One Day International (ODI) on 13 January 1999 in the match between Australia and Sri Lanka at Sydney when he was 27 years old.
In January 2007 he became the youngest umpire to stand in 100 ODIs, and in April 2007 took charge of the World Cup semi-final between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, again being ineligible for the final which featured Australia.
[12] On 3 March 2009, Taufel was one of the officials caught in the attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team by terrorists in Lahore, Pakistan.
His winning streak was broken in October 2009, when Aleem Dar of Pakistan won the ICC Umpire of the Year award.