Fred Goodall, who died in Wellington last month, was the world’s youngest Test umpire on debut, and New Zealand’s leading official for the 23 years in which his international career spanned.
The inimitable Mr Goodall, best known for standing in the stormy home Test series between New Zealand and the visiting West Indies in the summer of 1979-80, officiated in 24 Tests and 15 ODIs, before retiring in 1989.
Born in Greymouth, he lived most of his life in Christchurch and was appointed to stand in his first Test, against Pakistan at Lancaster Park in 1965, after only five first-class games and at the tender age (relatively speaking) of just 27.
A long-time member of the Territorial Army, Mr Goodall had a military bearing and a no-nonsense attitude towards officiating, not to mention an abrupt and demonstrative signal for “out”, violently throwing his left arm high and straight with upraised finger.
While some misconstrued this as antagonistic, he was well-regarded for accuracy and his understanding of the laws of the game and remained a respected umpire throughout the country until his retirement.
His performance against the West Indies in 1980 is what he will always be remembered for; Sir Richard Hadlee taking 11 wickets for the match in the first Test and seven of them lbw, the majority given by Mr Goodall.
However, those with memories long enough to remember the detail will recall that, with the Carisbrook pitch playing low and the West Indies having just arrived from Australia (where the bounce was much greater), most of his decisions looked very good.
Despite that, the series quickly degenerated into one of the most ill-mannered in New Zealand cricket history, with Michael Holding kicking the stumps out of the ground at Carisbrook, and Colin Croft shoulder-barging Mr Goodall while bowling in Christchurch.
After retiring from umpiring Mr Goodall put his mind to his other great love, athletics, becoming the Oceania Masters’ javelin champion at one point, and also serving as a track & field official.
Mr Goodall was 83. He is survived by his wife Diana, his adult children and many grand-children.
