TRIBUTES have been paid to Jim Downes who made a towering contribution to club cricket in Gloucestershire for well over 40 years.
Jim, who died recently at the age of 94, enjoyed a long playing career, as a left-handed opening bat and wicketkeeper, for teams such as the RAF while on post-war National Service, Weston’s Biscuits in South Wales and Prestbury, in Cheltenham.
But after being forced to retire in his early 50s because of back problems, Jim was determined to remain involved with cricket and soon trained as an umpire with the then Gloucestershire Association of Cricket Umpires which later added “And Scorers” (GACU&S) to its name and ultimately became the current GACO.
He went on to serve the club cricket community as an umpire for more than 30 years, finally hanging up his coat in 2016, during which time he officiated in hundreds of matches … from county age groups, the National Village Cup semi-finals and National Club Championship to county second XI games and the Gloucestershire Gipsies.
Jim also worked tirelessly behind the scenes, serving on a long list of committees.
As well as being a standing umpire, Jim was an enthusiastic volunteer serving on most of Gloucestershire’s cricket committees. He was a founder member of GACU&S, its first Appointments Officer and later edited their ‘Not Out’ newsletter for 15 years.
Jim represented umpires on the Gloucestershire Cricket Association committee (the forerunner of the GCB which is now the GCF) and was on the steering committee that launched the Gloucestershire County Cricket League.
Of his many claims to fame, perhaps Jim’s most notable achievement was the fact that he created and ran the Indoor League in Cheltenham for more than 30 years.
This four-division competition continues to thrive with teams bidding to win a trophy that bears his name, ensuring his legacy to club cricket will remain for many years to come.
Steve Silk, the chief executive of the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation, said: “Jim made a quite remarkable contribution to cricket in our county.
“Many people over many, many years will remember him for his work out in the middle as an umpire, but he also put in hundreds of hours of unseen work on committees to help our sport continue to develop and grow.
“I always referred to him as a Big Friendly Giant because he was so softly spoken and gave so much of himself to cricket, including supporting the formation back in the day of the Gloucestershire Cricket Board which, of course, has now evolved into the GCF.
“Thanks Jim, for everything you did, on and off the pitch.”