Terry Jenner copped a barrage of short-pitched bowling during the 1971 Ashes series. Credit:Fairfax Archives I remember watching the final Test of the Ashes series in Sydney in February 1971, where England's captain Ray Illingworth took his team off the field to protest the throwing of beer cans by spectators from the Hill area. That series was dominated by John Snow, England's aggressive fast bowler who was described by author Ray Robinson as "a swordfish among salmon". Snow not only bowled short-pitched balls bouncing high, he also had a short temper and tended to explode when an umpire warned him for intimidating bowling. Arguments got hotter as the series progressed and were at fever pitch in the seventh Test in Sydney. In his autobiography The Umpire's Story (1973) Rowan wrote: "Here we had an event as potentially dangerous to the traditions and aspirations of international cricket as the notorious bodyline series of England-Australia Tests of 1932-33.

Former Test cricket umpire Lou Rowan, 1981. "For at the centre of the whole affair, we had two men of extreme strong but cantankerous personality, Ray Illingworth and John Snow, the vicar's son – both of them cricketers of high skill, both of them pugnaciously eager to win, both of them in need of careful handling for the game's sake when a noisy crowd irritated them, such as in Sydney." The drama started after tea on the second day. Snow had the Australian batsmen in trouble with his pace and bouncers. They were 7-178 when spinner and tailender Terry Jenner joined Greg Chappell at the crease. The next ball was a screamingly fast bouncer that hit Jenner on the back of his neck. He was knocked out and bleeding profusely. Rowan called it a "dead ball" immediately. As Jenner was helped from the field, Rowan told Snow to ease up on those short deliveries. Rowan added: "Snow stopped in his tracks and, in a most belligerent attitude said, 'What rot! That's the only ... bouncer I've bowled. It's not my fault he got hit'."

Illingworth was incensed that Snow had received a caution from Rowan and said in a raised voice, "You can't caution him ... hell. I'll report you". Chappell was at the other end during the fracas. In his autobiography Fierce Focus, he wrote: "Illy, Snowy and the umpire Lou Rowan were at each other that afternoon, as they had been all series. Snowy tended to bowl short, and now he was in a temper. Up the other end, TJ [Terry Jenner] was terrified, expecting a bouncer every ball." The crowd noise rose to a tumult when Jenner was knocked out. They got angrier as Snow, Illingworth and Rowan exchanged words. At the end of the over Illingworth sent Snow to the fine-leg fence. Soon Snow became involved in an altercation with an angry spectator. Things became nastier as fielders rushed to the trouble spot. Empty beer cans were thrown on the ground. Illingworth told his players to sit down, which angered the crowd even more. With the crowd roaring for play to continue more cans were hurled on the ground and Illingworth led his team from the field. Rowan wrote: "Without even so much as a word or a gesture to either umpire, he began the walk-off which headed England, the MCC, even cricket itself, towards what might develop into the blackest moment in the sport's history."

The umpires, Rowan and Tom Brooks, could have declared the game over with Australia winning by forfeit. But they gave England a chance to resume play as the consequences would have been grave for not only cricket but relations between the two countries. They also felt that if the game was abandoned, a riot would replace the cacophonic noise. The umpires, accompanied by the managers of Australia and England, approached Illingworth in the visitors' dressing room and asked him, "do you propose to resume the game or to forfeit?" Illingworth asked for police protection. Rowan told him that the ground will be cleared of beer cans and other litter. "You will then resume or forfeit the game." England decided to resume and a major crisis was averted, thanks to umpires acting firmly and sensibly. This was not Rowan's first bout with controversy. In 1963-64 he was officiating at the bowler's end when square-leg umpire Col Egar no-balled Ian Meckiff for chucking against South Africa in 1963-64. Rowan condemned chuckers, who he later said "should be thrown out of the game".

According to Jonno Colfs in The Observer, Rowan enjoyed a quiet seat overlooking the Great Dividing Range and reflection of a life well-lived. He cherished his friendship with Sir Donald Bradman. They exchanged letters for 30 years. The 130 letters from the Don were priceless for him. He preserved them in a bank in Warwick. "When I'm gone they'll be shredded," Rowan had said. "They contain personal thoughts and comments on a range of topics and I'd rather they are destroyed than fall into wrong hands." Rowan was a highly respected police officer, renowned for conducting himself with honesty and integrity for 32 years from 1948. "It was a privilege knowing Lou Rowan," Davidson said. "My last Test was against England in Sydney in February 1963, and my last ball was bowled with Lou as the umpire who said, 'this is it'. And I ended up taking a wicket with my last ball." With the passing of Rowan goes a slice of history, a man of loyalty and passion.

Rowan married Isabella Zackrisen in 1954 and is survived by eight children (Janelle, Margaret, Annette, Peter, Stephen, Lou, Bernadette and Philip), 21 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, sisters Win and Noreen and brother Reg. Kersi Meher-Homji