Brent Fraser "Billy" Bowden (born: 11 April 1963) is a cricket umpire from New Zealand. He was a player until he began suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. He is well-known for his dramatic signaling style which includes the famous "crooked finger of doom" out signal. He officiated in 84 Tests, 200 ODIs (one day Internationals) and 24 T20Is (one day International limited to 20 overs of game play). On 6 February 2016, Bowden stood in his last 200th One Day International match in the game between New Zealand and Australia in Wellington.

Suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, it was too painful for Bowden to signal a batsman out in the conventional fashion, with a straight index finger raised above head, and this led to the "crooked finger of doom". He has also put his own slant on several other signals, including a "crumb-sweeping" wave of the arm to signal a four, and the "double crooked finger six-phase hop" to signal a six. His signaling styles vary with the format, orthodox style in Tests, flashy in ODIs and over-the-top flamboyant in Twenty20. His behaviour has attracted him both fans and critics. However, there was a suggestion that he needs to do signals in the way he does because of his arthritis, as he needs to to keep his body fluid.

His creative ways of signaling the boundaries, his entertaining mannerisms surely made umpiring a fun job. This colourful character brought the entertainment factor to the boring job of umpiring.

More Info: en.m.wikipedia.org