Lloyd Budd

William Lloyd Budd (25 October 1913 – 23 August 1986) was an English first-class cricketer and international cricket umpire. Budd initially played first-class cricket for Hampshire County Cricket Club between 1934 and 1938, and briefly following the Second World War. He later became an umpire, standing in four Test matches and twelve One Day Internationals from 1976 to 1979.

Playing career Budd was born in October 1913 at Hawkley, Hampshire. A right-arm fast-medium bowler and a hard-hitting lower order batsman, Budd made his debut in first-class cricket for Hampshire against Leicestershire at Bournemouth in the 1934 County Championship. He appeared infrequently, but was utilised the most by Hampshire in 1935 and 1937, Prior to this, he had appeared for Hampshire in 56 first-class matches and taken 61 wickets, though these had come at a high average. As a batsman he played two innings of note, putting on 125 for the last wicket with Alec Hosie against Glamorgan in 1935, and making 77 not out against Surrey in 1937. during which he played exhibition matches for Southampton Police against the Metropolitan Police, in addition to playing for the London Counties cricket team. Following the war, he resumed playing first-class cricket for Hampshire, making four appearances in the 1946 County Championship. With the bat, he scored 941 runs at a batting average of 11.47. Following the end of his first-class career, Budd played club cricket in Southampton for Deanery Cricket Club.

Umpiring career Following a gap of over twenty years from senior cricket, Budd first stood as an umpire in senior cricket in April 1969, in a List A one-day match between Essex and Kent. The following month, he officiated in first-class cricket for the first time. Budd officiated in his first international match in 1974, when England played Pakistan in a One Day International (ODI) at Trent Bridge. The following year, he umpired in four matches in the World Cup. Budd stood in his first Test match alongside Bill Alley in 1976, when England played the West Indies at Old Trafford. The match was controversial due to the West Indian bowlers, led by Michael Holding, subjecting the England batsman, notably openers John Edrich and Brian Close, to a barrage of bouncers. Both Budd and Alley did not initially intervene to reprimand the West Indies for their excessive use of the bouncer. Pat Pocock considered Budd's lack of action as being down to him standing in his first Test match and not wanting to rock the boat; eventually, after 162 minutes of hostile bowling, Alley issued a reprimand for 'intimidation'. Following the match, there were calls to ban the use of bouncers, with the Marylebone Cricket Club responding with only a marginal strengthening of the regulations governing their use.

As part of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Budd, alongside Dickie Bird and the English and Australian teams, met The Queen and The Queen Mother at Clarence House, during the first Test of the 1977 Ashes Series. He stood in two Tests during the series, and the following year he stood in his fourth and final Test match between England and Pakistan. He stood in four matches in the 1979 World Cup, which were the last of the twelve ODI's he officiated in. He umpired in a total of 267 first-class and 233 List A matches.