| Billy Bowden, a cricket umpire from New Zealand, is famous for his dramatic signal style, notably the "crooked finger of doom" out sign. |
| As a child, he played cricket with his older brother in their backyard. |
| Bowden was a middle-order batsman, off-spinner, and high-school team captain for three years. |
| Starting around 1989, Bowden struggled with straightening his hands due to arthritis, leading to his unique crooked finger out signal. |
| In addition to his distinctive out signal, he introduced other unique gestures like a "crumb-sweeping" arm wave for a four and a "double crooked finger six-phase hop" for a six. |
| Coming from a Christian background, Bowden's father being a minister for 65 years helped him cope with his condition. |
| He officiated as an on-field umpire for his first test match in March 2000 and became the youngest umpire to oversee 100 ODIs in 2002. |
| In 2003, Bowden umpired at the Cricket World Cup in South Africa and was selected as the fourth umpire for the final between Australia and India. |
| An incident in 2005 saw Bowden waving a red card at Australian bowler Glenn McGrath. |
| During the 2006 Brisbane Ashes test, Bowden was hit by a ball and knocked to the ground by Geraint Jones. |
| In the 2006-07 Ashes 5th Test, he intervened to stop Paul Collingwood and Shane Warne from engaging in distractions. |
| He was the fourth umpire for the Cricket World Cup final in 2007. |
| During a 2010 Australia-West Indies one-dayer, Bowden moved across the stumps before giving a batsman out with his crooked finger. |
| A dispute with on-field umpires involving MS Dhoni occurred in 2012. |
| He was chosen as one of five umpires for the Ashes series in 2013. |
| Bowden has umpired in over 259 ODIs, 104 Tests, and 32 T20Is spanning 25 years, in addition to numerous first-class matches and cricket tournaments. |
