Nigel Plews was an English rarity - an umpire who had never played first-class cricket - and he was only the fourth Englishman to stand in a post-war Test who had no first-class experience. And, as almost every article on him mentioned, probably the only official who was a former fraud squad detective with Nottingham City police. He had played and officiated in club cricket in Nottingham when he was elevated to the first-class panel in 1982. A giant of a man - he was 6'6" - he stood in 11 Tests, making his international debut at Trent Bridge in 1988, and 16 ODIs. After retiring he continued to advise the ECB and MCC on the laws.

He was diagnosed with liver cancer in March 2007, by which point it was too late to operate. He was given life-prolonging drugs, after debate about his eligibility with the Nottinghamshire Primary Care Trust, but died in the autumn of 2008.
Martin Williamson October 2008