Billy Doctrove played club cricket in Dominica as a right-hand batsman for a number of years but his first love was - and remains - football in general and Liverpool in particular. In 1995 he became Dominica's first FIFA referee and in the next two years he officiated in a number of internationals in the Caribbean, including a World Cup qualifier between Guyana and Grenada in 1996.

In 1997 he quit football to concentrate on umpiring (although he still refereed club football in Dominica) and stood in his first Test in 2000 in Antigua. He was elevated to the international panel in 2004 and the Elite Panel in 2006, but his first forrays at the highest level were uninspiring and he found himself embroiled in a storm at The Oval in August 2006 along with his colleague Darrell Hair.
Martin Williamson September 2006