Bermuda umpires have lost a good friend with the recent death of former Jamaica umpire Douglas Sang Hue. He died at the age of 82 on August 22.

Randy Butler and George Francis, two former presidents of the Bermuda Cricket Umpires Association, recalled how Sang Hue would always push to get umpiring opportunities in the Caribbean for Bermuda’s top officials during the 1980s, when the likes of Randolph “Shorty” Spencer, Anthony “Sonny” Roberts, Luther Wilkin, Dennis Raynor, George Trott, Butler and Francis were still active.

“In 1986 ‘Shorty’ invited [Sang Hue] to Bermuda so that he could see him umpire in Cup Match because he wanted to see ‘Shorty’ in a multiple-day match, but that was the year they picked Dennis Raynor and George Trott as the umpires and ’Shorty’ as standby,” said Butler, who took up umpiring in 1982 “when Luther pushed me into it”.

Butler became vice-president of the BCUA in 1983 and three years later took over as president from Roberts, at a time when the umpires association had strong ties in the Caribbean, thanks to Sang Hue.

“I first met Sang Hue in 1983 at my first West Indies umpires convention when Luther and I went to Guyana,” he said. “We were pushing then to get Bermuda umpires, those who were qualified, down to the Caribbean to get some exposure.

“We had some problems because Bermuda didn’t play first-class matches, but Sang Hue and Johnny Gale [the former secretary of West Indies Cricket Umpires and president of the Jamaica Cricket Umpires Association for many years] were pushing for a Bermuda umpire to come down and get some exposure.

“Sang Hue eventually came up here for Cup Match and umpired a game here at Bailey’s Bay and then George Francis and I were invited to go to Jamaica around 1991 when we did some senior cup matches. Sang Hue was always there to test you about your knowledge of the laws.”

Sang Hue died at his home in Kingston and will be buried on September 13.

His career spanned more than 25 years, having umpired in 31 Tests in the West Indies. He holds the distinction of becoming the first umpire to stand in all five Tests of a series in the Caribbean, doing so during the 1972-73 home series against Australia. He repeated that feat the next season against England.

Sang Hue also signed up for Kerry Packer’s World Series in 1977 and was subsequently dropped by the West Indies Cricket Board, although he returned to umpire three Tests in 1981 and continued standing in domestic cricket until 1988. He also served as chairman of the West Indies training and examination committee.

“He always had a word for us in terms of encouragement and tips about the game,” Butler said.

“He shared a lot with us when we were trying to break into West Indies cricket.

“The latest George Francis and I went down there was in 2005 when we did the West Indies Under-19s tournament in Jamaica — George for the 50-over tournament while I went for the three-day matches. I finished umpiring in 2008.”

Francis is also indebted to Sang Hue, whom he counted as a friend, and is hoping to attend his funeral in Jamaica. “I’m making some personal plans but I can’t speak for the [umpires] association,” Francis said. “He was also a personal friend of ‘Shorty’ Spencer, who he stayed with for two weeks when he came to Bermuda.

“Because of his expertise, I got to know him, so I could get some experience from him. I also did one game with him and I really enjoyed that because he was the only umpire in the world to do five consecutive Test matches.

“That was before the days when we now have umpires from abroad to do Test matches. He was a great guy, my mentor and I learnt a lot from him.

“He wrote my examination and I used to visit his house a lot in Jamaica. He was a quiet man, but brilliant when it came to umpiring.”