ONE OF South Yorkshire’s most prominent cricket figures, Terry Bentham, has died after a long illness.

Terry, who served the sport for more than 50 years as umpire and administrator, passed away at his Wombwell home on Sunday. He was 87.

His umpiring career started in 1975, initially in the Doncaster League before moving to the higher-standard South Riding Cricket League the following season.

Terry took a sabbatical from umpiring between 1981 and 1989 to became Secretary of Darfield CC.

During this time, the team was one of the most successful in South Yorkshire history, winning the South Riding League seven years in succession, a record they would eventually stretch to nine consecutive titles.

Darfield also won the Whitworth Cup in 1983 and were crowned Yorkshire Council champions two years later.

Terry subsequently played a great part in wider cricket administration and was elected to the South Riding League committee in 1991, playing a key role as the competition expanded en route to it becoming the South Yorkshire Senior Cricket League in 2002.

He took over as chairman in 2004 and later served as chief executive.

In 2015, he oversaw absorption of the South Yorkshire Cricket Alliance, a move which grew the South Yorkshire Senior League to more than a hundred teams.

Terry relinquished the league’s chief executive position in 2016, when he also retired from match officiating.

However, he remained chairman until 2020, ahead of the competition transforming into the Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League.

During half a century of umpiring, Terry took charge of more than 1,200 matches. He served on the Minor Counties List and ECB 38 County Competition Panel. He also umpired three Yorkshire Area National Village finals, as well as latter stages of the National Club Championship.

In 2013, he achieved a lifetime ambition of umpiring at Lord’s.

After hanging up his white coat, Terry assessed fledgling umpires in his role as county performance officer. He also developed a mentoring system, inspired by a similar scheme he had experienced working in the steel industry.

Honorary positions followed including Senior Life Vice-President of the Yorkshire Cricket Council.

He was also president of the Yorkshire Premier Leagues Umpires Association and of South Yorkshire Cricket Umpires Association.

His dedication to furthering cricket development was highlighted when accepting the position as President of South Yorkshire Women and Girls’ Cricket League.

Terry was ‘highly commended’ in the 2016 Outstanding Services to Cricket Awards, which paid tribute to volunteers in the recreational game.

The following year, he was recognised by Wombwell Cricket Lovers Society with the EH Umbers award for services to Yorkshire Cricket.

He also became one of only two ambassadors for the Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League and was inducted into the competition’s Hall of Fame in 2021.

Growing up in Kilnhurst, his childhood interest in cricket was kindled by occasional matches for the nearby colliery team and he filled in as an infrequent scorer.

The family moved to West Melton where his parents ran the Queen’s Hotel.

Terry attended Mexborough GS and Mexborough Technical School, and studied mechanical engineering at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology.

He worked at Manvers Main and Elsecar Collieries then Yorkshire Tar Distillers before 20 years at British Steel Corporation where he was also a trade union official. His career ended in power stations.

Terry Bentham is survived by widow Vera, who he married in 1959; children Dale and Jayne; grandchildren Josh, James and Poppy and great-granddaughter Reya.