Eric Gardiner, a familiar figure in Cumbria cricket, has died at the age of 82.
Known as Bush, he was a player, umpire and scorer in the old North Lancashire League, later the Cumbria League.
He was actually better known as a rugby league player in his early days, although not as much as his elder brother Danny who played for Workington Town and Wigan.
Eric signed for Workington in 1964 after actually being sent off at Derwent Park playing as a trialist.
Although he only went on to play four first team games he was a stalwart of a very good Town A team before a shoulder injury ended his rugby league career.
Eric and Danny had been brought up in Kirkby-in-Furness and went to school at Dowdales in Dalton.
As a teenager Eric joined Lindal Moor cricket club in 1958 where he played until 1978.
He was an opening batsman and a wicket keeper who is fifth on the club’s all-time run scoring chart with 8,160 runs at an average of 22.
He is also third in the fielding chart taking 261 catches and 16 stumpings.
He was part of the very successful team in the 1970s winning the North Lancashire league in 1972, 1974 and 1978, and the Higson Cup in 1960, 1972 and 1975.
These were the first six major honours in the club’s history and Eric was also captain of the team on the biggest day in the club’s history when they played at Lord’s in the final of the 1977 National Village Championship.
Unfortunately, they were beaten by Cookley, from Worcestershire.
Following his time at Lindal Moor, he joined his home team in Kirkby where he played for another six years.
After his playing days, he continued in the game as a respected umpire in the North Lancashire league for many years.
More recently he has been the scorer for Dalton and earlier had also taken up golf where he was a member of Dunnerholme Golf Club in Askam.
He died at Furness General Hospital in Barrow.
He is survived by his wife Judy, daughters Jill and Claire, and grandchildren Liam, Dean and Libby.
