4 Legends from the Golden Generation of Umpires

#4 Billy Bowden

Suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, it was painful for Billy Bowden to raise his finger in the conventional way which led to the “crooked finger of doom”. To signal four,he had a “crumb sweeping” wave of the arm. He attracted a lot of fans for his style. He was a part of Emirates panel of International Umpires and has officiated in 84 Tests,200 ODIs and 24 T20s.

He was the 4th umpire for the 2003 and 2007 World Cup final. In January 2007, Bowden became the youngest umpire to officiate in 100 ODIs during the New Zealand and Sri Lanka match which was bettered by Simon Taufel a few days later. He has been awarded the Bronze Bails Award for officiating over 100 ODIs.

He stood in his 200th One Day International in the game between the Kiwis and Kangaroos in Wellington. His jovial appearance on the field was an attraction to everyone and he was part of a number of funny incidents like the one at the 2006 Brisbane Ashes Test where he was knocked to the ground by a ball hit by Geraint Jones. He was included to be the part of 2015 World Cup but was demoted to New Zealand’s national panel in June 2016.