5 Best umpires of all time in cricket
These umpires have etched their names in the history of the sport only with their accuracy and presence of mind.
3. Billy Bowden
When is the last time the fans enjoyed the on-field antics of an official and the answer is quite simple, Billy Bowden at the bowler’s end. The Kiwi was a cricketer who suffered rheumatoid arthritis in the playing days and ended up taking the umpiring job. Standing in his 1st game at Hamilton in 1995, Bowden went to officiate 308 international games.
Crooked finger of doom, crumb sweeping and double crooked finger six-phase hop are some of his hysterical actions. It provided pure joy to the cricketing fraternity but very knew that his illness didn’t allow the conventional style of umpiring. Billy was an individual with a witty sense of humour as he was the first umpire to issue the red card in gentlemen’s game when Glenn McGrath tried to bowl underarm.
His most memorable moment has to be the 2005 Ashes which is considered one of the greatest series of all time and he officiated 3 of the 5 Tests. Unfortunately, he was demoted in 2016 but he has a special place in the history books of cricket.
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