Former Test umpire passes away in Barbados

Stanton Parris, a former Test umpire, died on Monday at the age of 78 in Barbados. Parris had stood in five Tests and an ODI between 1974 and 1983 though his first-class career extended up to 1990. He was ailing for a brief period and was hospitalised late last year. He distinguished himself as an administrator, having served as president of the Barbados Cricket Umpires Association (BCUA), president of the Spartan Club and a training officer with the West Indies Cricket Umpires Association (WICUA).

Lloyd Barker, Barbados' most capped umpire internationally, who made his first-class umpiring debut alongside Parris in a match at the Kensington Oval in 1981, said Parris had been the "epitome of good cricket umpiring".

He always exuded that air of authority when he umpired," Barker told Barbados' Midweek Sport. Those of us who came after him were fortunate to have learnt a lot from the manner in which he went about his business and the precision [with] which he did what he had to do. Stanton was a Caribbean person where cricket was concerned. He functioned not only at the local level, but at the level of WICUA where he could be a handful at times. He will be missed."

Former Barbados Cricket Association president Peter Short remembered Parris as a good bowler and a top administrator for the Spartan Cricket Club. "However, his greatest contribution to cricket was through his long and outstanding service to umpiring to Barbados and West Indies cricket," Short said. "He set a fine example by his dedication to umpiring, and at one time he was rated one of the best umpires in the West Indies.

"He was an avid cricket follower who had a great recall for incidents in Barbados and West Indies cricket history. He will be greatly missed. I offer my sincere condolences to his family."

BCUA president Vincent Bullen said even though Parris was from the old school of umpiring, he was always up to date with new rules and technology. "He liked to be involved. He was always dedicated to anything that he was involved in. He was very helpful at meetings. He looked forward to participating in the regional umpires' convention. We will miss him from this year's convention in June in Bermuda."

Parris was an honorary life member of the Barbados Cricket Association and was awarded the Barbados Service Star in last year's Independence honours.