Bowden stands in three Ashes Tests

Billy Bowden, who came under scrutiny for his close relationship with Australia's players in February, will umpire three of the five Ashes Tests in England this summer. The ICC announced its appointments for the series today, with Bowden in charge alongside Steve Bucknor in the third and fourth matches and Rudi Koertzen in the fifth at The Oval in September.

Koertzen, who has been appointed for Australia's three NatWest Challenge matches in July, and Aleem Dar will stand in the opening two Tests at Lord's and Edgbaston. Ranjan Madugalle will be the referee for the Test series, while his fellow Sri Lankan Roshan Mahanama will oversee the one-day matches.

Simon Taufel has been selected for the two Tests in the Sri Lanka-West Indies series that starts in Colombo on July 15. Mike Procter will referee the Tests and one-day matches, while Taufel and Daryl Harper will officiate in alternate games in the limited-overs tournament.