In his playing days as a first-class cricketer for Border and Eastern Province, Ian Howell had some success as a bits-and-pieces allrounder, scoring 3767 runs in 119 matches at 26.90, and taking 243 first-class wickets at 35.74 with his left-arm medium pace. He qualified as an umpire after his playing career finished in 1998, and stood in his first international when Sri Lanka came to Cape Town in January 2001. However, it wasn't until 2005 that he became a regular fixture on the international circuit. In December 2006 he became the first umpire to officiate in his native country since the introduction of the elite panel in 2002, when Mark Benson withdrew from a Test in Centurion due to heart palpitations. A "not-outer" by instinct, Howell's reputation suffered during India's tour of England in 2007, when he was involved in a series of poor decisions.
Andrew Miller