Tributes have been paid to late Bermuda Cricket Umpires Association president and former player George Francis, who recently passed away at age 76.

The Jamaican, who also served as the association’s secretary and treasurer, took to umpiring after ending his playing career and had the honour of officiating in Cup Match among many other privileges.

His services out in the middle extended far beyond the island’s shores, having later been appointed to the elite panel for the Americas region, which paved the way for him to stand in international matches around the world.

“George was very excited about his role when he became an umpire. He was highly excited about that and more, so when he got on to the ICC Americas Panel \he was able to go back home to Jamaica and wear his ICC Americas blazer to let them know what qualifications he had,” Steven Douglas, the former BCUA president, told The Royal Gazette.

“My first big international game was the under-19 tournament final in Bermuda in 2001. George and I umpired the final between Bermuda and Canada in Somerset, and he was also very instrumental in teaching me Duckworth-Lewis.”

Douglas added: “Every time I saw him ,I used to call him Inzamam-ul-Haq because the year Pakistan came here Inzamam came with them and everybody flocked down to St David’s to see him.

“Inzamam got rapped on the pads very early in his innings and up went George’s finger. A lot of people that came to see Inzamam used some choice words for him.”

The 28-year veteran, who also officiated in the former Red Stripe Bowl competition in the Caribbean, expressed his joy of umpiring at the international level in an interview with The Royal Gazette in 2019.

“I have had the pleasure of umpiring all over the world — Argentina, Dubai, Barbados, Canada, Kenya and Jamaica,” he said. “The team I most enjoyed umpiring was the Allan Border-led Australians.”

Francis initially burst on to the local cricket scene as an early-order batsman for Somerset Bridge.

“George was a nice guy to have around. He was very talkative in the changing room,” Steven Lambert, the former Bridge seamer, recalled. “He knew a lot about the game and could hold the cricket conversation.”

Francis later joined Bridge’s Western Counties rivals Willow Cuts, where he ended his playing career.

“George was a batsman and one of them that tried to occupy the crease a good bit,” Dexter Basden, the former Cuts captain, said. “He would hold his end and had a big heart for the game.

“George was quiet but he loved a good joke and when it came to training, he would always be there.

“George loved the game of cricket. He had a real passion for the game and also made a big impact as an umpire.”

Francis will be laid to rest after a memorial service at Amis Memorial Chapel in Khyber Pass, Warwick, on Saturday, beginning at noon.