 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Brent Fraser Bowden |
| Born | (1963-04-11)11 April 1963 (age 62) Henderson, New Zealand |
| Umpiring information | |
| Tests umpired | 84 (2000–2015) |
| ODIs umpired | 200 (1995–2016) |
| T20Is umpired | 24 (2005–2016) |
| WTests umpired | 1 (1995) |
| WODIs umpired | 21 (1995–2021) |
| WT20Is umpired | 25 (2009–2020) |
Source:ESPNcricinfo,21 December 2021 | |
Brent Fraser "Billy"Bowden (born 11 April 1963) is a New Zealandcricketumpire and former cricketer. He was a player untilrheumatoid arthritis forced him to retire. He is well known for his dramatic signalling style which includes the famous "crooked finger of doom" out signal.[1] On 6 February 2016, Bowden stood in his 200thOne Day International match in the game betweenNew Zealand and Australia inWellington.[2]
Bowden was born in theAuckland suburb ofHenderson and was educated atWestlake Boys High School.
In March 1995, Bowden officiated his firstOne Day International between New Zealand and Sri Lanka atHamilton. In March 2000 he was appointed his first Test match as an on-field umpire, and in 2002 he was included in the Emirates Panel of International Umpires. A year later he was asked to umpire at theCricket World Cup in South Africa, and was chosen to be thefourth umpire in the final between Australia and India. Shortly after this he was duly promoted to the EmiratesElite Panel of ICC Umpires, of which he was a member until 2013. He reprised his role as fourth umpire in the2007 Cricket World Cup final[3] Bowden was involved in an incident at the 2006 Brisbane Ashes test while standing at the square leg fielding position, when knocked to the ground by a ball hit byGeraint Jones.[4]
He was selected as one of the twenty umpires to stand in matches during the2015 Cricket World Cup.[5]
He was a member of theInternational Panel of Umpires and Referees until June 2016, when he was demoted to New Zealand's national panel.[6]
On 24 December 2020, he umpired the Dream 11 domestic T20 competition opening double-header betweenWellington Firebirds andAuckland Aces as both men's and women's sides were both featured. In October 2023, Bowden become the first New Zealand umpire to officiate in 200 first-class matches.[7]
Suffering fromrheumatoid arthritis, Bowden is known for his distinctive umpire signalling and his "crooked finger dismissal".[8] He has drawn both praise and criticism for his style, withDave Richardson calling him "one of the best performers of the entire tournament", whileMartin Crowe referred to him as a "'Bozo the Clown' character".[8] In 2006, he headed a campaign to raise money and awareness about the disease.[9]