New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden’s 100th ODI had some curious similarities to his first ever international appointment.
Bowden made three figures with the washed-out fifth and final National Bank match at Hamilton between the BLACKCAPS and Sri Lanka.
Bowden, now 43, is famous throughout the world for his crooked finger send-off for batsmen, but it was seen for the first time in limited-overs international 12 years ago, when he stood in the middle as the same two nations met at the same Seddon Park venue.
Only five players are common to both fixtures – BLACKCAPS Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle and the Sri Lanka trio of Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralidaran and Chaminda Vaas.
Bad weather affected that 1995 match as well but on that occasion a positive result was possible, with the BLACKCAPS winning by 57 runs after Sri Lanka were set a revised target.
Man-of-the-match Astle led the way for the home side with 95 at the top of the order.
Bowden, a member of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, said: “I am really delighted to have reached this milestone although it is certainly not something I would normally think about.
“All I ever want is to ensure I do my best – it is not about records. Whatever the occasion, my priority is to make sure I have a good game and make the right decisions. That is always the most important thing.
“Having said that, it is a special day and it is great to be a member of the 100 club. It is a huge honour and when I look at the calibre of the other umpires to have reached the milestone, it makes me proud.
“Shortly after I stopped playing in 1986 due to my arthritis, I realised I wanted to give something back to the game and the way I chose to do that was to umpire.
“Since then there have been more and more opportunities for umpires to travel thanks to the introduction of neutral umpires and I have certainly benefited from that.
“It has been an amazing privilege to be given the chance to travel the world doing something that I love and I feel proud to be a Kiwi and proud to represent the ICC.”
Bowden, who will receive a crystal plaque to mark his achievement, is only the eighth official to reach the mark and the second from New Zealand, following on from Steve Dunne.
He has become the youngest official to stand in 100 ODIs but it is a record he is set to hold for only a few days as 35 year-old Simon Taufel is currently one short of his century and should get there during the forthcoming tri-series in Australia.
But he still has some way to go to top the list of ODI appearances. That honour goes to the now-retired David Shepherd who stood in 172 matches between 1983 and 2005, including three successive ICC Cricket World Cup finals.
