Two umpiring mates, Brent Bowden and Tony Hill, chatted about their Christmas-present wish-list during the Auckland-Central Districts State Championship match at Eden Park Outer Oval last week.

Both said that top of the present list would be a free five-day pass as umpires to a New Zealand Test match against the touring Bangladesh side.

Yesterday Brian Aldridge, the New Zealand Cricket umpiring manager, changed into a red suit, donned the white whiskers and with a ho-ho-ho granted both their wishes.

Hill, from Papakura and a staunch Counties and Northern Districts man, will stand in the first Bangladesh-New Zealand Test at Hamilton starting on December 18, and Bowden will be umpire for the second Test at the Basin Reserve starting on December 26.

This will be Hill's first Test, and Bowden's second - he stood in the New Zealand-Australia Test at Eden Park in early 2000.

"Billy" Bowden was delighted to be back in the Test lists, and especially pleased that Hill had won his first Test, after six years an umpire and seven One-Day Internationals.

"This is a fantastic thing for Tony, he has earned it and now he will have the special pleasure of starting his Test career on his home ND ground at Hamilton," said Bowden.

"It will be good to have a Test at Hamilton, with 'Turk' (John Turkington, the ND chief executive) and my Northern Districts mates there," said Hill.

"I realised that this is the last year under the present Test umpiring appointment system, and next year the International Cricket Councill will change the system," said Hill, "so I was rather hopeful that I could get a Test before the new scheme comes in.

"And now it comes as a nicely wrapped Christmas present."

Bowden and the touring Bangladeshis will get a preview of each other's Test form when the tourists start a three-day game against a New Zealand District Association XI at Wanganui tomorrow. Bowden and Dave Quested will be the umpires, Hill and David Orchard (South Africa) will handle the first Test and Bowden and Daryl Harper (Australia) will stand in the second.

Barry Jarman of Australia will be the ICC match referee for both Tests.

Trevor Chappell, the Bangladesh coach, had his team training this afternoon soon after arriving in Wanganui, and said he had been delighted at the quality of practice facilities offered his team.

He expected to name his playing team after inspecting the Victoria Park pitch. It will be a journey into the unknown for Chappell - he does not have any knowledge of the ability or the form of the District Association XI.

Teams:

Bangladesh (from): Khaled Mashud (captain), Habibul Bashar, Aminul Islam, Javed Omar, Mohammad Ashraful, Al Sahariar, Enamul Haque, Hasibul Hossain, Mohammad Sharif, Khaled Mahmud, Fahim Muntasir, Tushar Imran, Mashrafe Mortaza, Sanwar Hossain.

New Zealand District Association XI: Peter McGlashan, Tim Anderson, Simon Andrews, Peter Fulton, Jaden Hatwell, Peter Ingram, Harley James, Taraia Robin, Grant Robinson, Neil Rushton, Greg Todd, Scott Baldwin (12th man).

© CricInfo