A stalwart of the Dutch cricketing scene for more than fifty years, umpire Duco Ohm has been announced as the European regional winner in the Lifetime Achiever category in this year’s Shepherd-Frindall Awards, organised by the ECB.

The awards are made annually in memory of two of the most charismatic figures in the world of cricket, the umpire David Shepherd and the scorer-statistician Bill Frindall.

Duco Ohm is a long-time member of ACC, for whom he took 58 wickets in Hoofdklasse matches between 1954 and 1964, and is a pillar of Still Going Strong (the Dutch 40 Club). But he is best known as an umpire, having stood in more than 650 domestic and international games, including matches at three ICC Trophy tournaments.

He also occupies a variety of administrative posts on KNCB committees, including the Umpires’ and Accommodation committees, and has been chairman of Still Going Strong since 1999.

It was announced at the same time that Wraye Wenigmann, who is a prominent figure in German cricket as a scorer, administrator and proponent of women’s cricket, has won the European regional award in the Behind the Scenes category.

The European winners will receive from the ECB ACO a 'Reward and Recognition' prize of a ticket for the England v Pakistan ODI at Lord’s on 20 September, with flights and accommodation supplied by ICC Europe. The two regional winners also go forward to the ECB ACO Awards Committee to be considered for the overall national winner.

Welcoming the recognition of Ohm’s contribution to the Dutch game, KNCB CEO Richard Cox said on Tuesday: ‘This is an outstanding achievement for an outstanding person.

‘The KNCB has been delighted to formally nominate Duco for this award in the light of his 60 years’ service to cricket. We wish him a wonderful experience at the awards ceremony and further recognition amongst the ECB ACO awards.’