Frederick Robert Goodall, ONZM, ED (1938–2021)
Willows Member (2006–2021)
Fred was the youngest person to officiate in our Test cricket history. He was only 27 years of age when ap-pointed to umpire a Pakistan v NZ Test in 1965. He went on the stand in a total of 24 Tests and 15 ODIs be-tween 1965 and 1988. He will always be remembered as the man who stood in the middle for one of the most contentious moments in New Zealand sport. While attracting the ire of the touring West Indian side in their 1980 tour, fellow international umpire David Quested presents another side of this charismatic character:
“When I started in 1982/83 Fred was in his prime, training umpires, and we looked up to him. He would come to meetings after a Test match and give us a run down by saying “we got six wrong” and he would explain each one. He was always so well dressed on a Saturday and if standing with Fred you always made sure that your tie, tie pin, cuff links, and all your gear, especially the counter was in perfect order.
One thing I do remember was that for club cricket the trousers to be worn had to be BLUE in colour, and that you only wore BLACK trousers when appointed to first-class matches. For me, as a police officer, I had plenty of BLUE trousers, even with several pockets in them for baton and handcuffs etc. These did the job well. The training sessions he took would be run just like his geography class at St Andrew’s College, with no talking or drifting off. On one occasion he stopped his training to berate two very senior umpires because they were not listening”.
We extend our thoughts and condolences to his wife Diana and family.