FORMER Guyana first-class Umpire, Mohamed Baksh, was laid to rest yesterday (Wednesday) in New Jersey according to Muslim rites.
According to reports, Baksh, who migrated to the USA in the 1990s, died last Sunday in New York at the age of 82.

Beginning in the early seventies, Baksh officiated in first-division and first-class matches. He has under his belt more than a quarter of a century of participation in the Shell Shield, Red Stripe and other West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) competitions. He also officiated in matches between the West Indies and touring teams from India, Pakistan and Australia.

In 1972, Baksh became one of the youngest members in the West Indies to be granted full membership to the prestigious Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers of England, having passed their Final Written Examination and met the other requirements.
Baksh has been a member of the West Indies Cricket Umpires’ Training and Examination Committee for a number of years and the officer of the Guyana Cricket Umpires’ Council responsible for the training and certification of umpires in Guyana, prior to migrating.
He however continued his interest in the sport on his arrival in the USA, becoming the training officer for umpires in the country. He was the initial training officer of the then United States of America Cricket Umpires’ Association (USACUA) and in that capacity was instrumental in getting USACUA’s

umpires trained and presented at the WICUA Final Written, Oral and Practical examinations for the first time in North America.
Several USA umpires have since become fully Qualified and Certified umpires within the ranks of the current United States of America Cricket Umpires and Scorers’ Association (USACUSA)

Under Baksh’s tutelage, guidance and training sessions, examination and certification were conducted each and every year since 1992 in New York, Connecticut, Atlanta, Florida and Washington. Upon elevation of the USACUA to full membership of the WICUA at the convention in Guyana (2007), Baksh was elected to serve as a member of the training and examination committee of WICUA. He represented Guyana at WICUA conventions as a delegate from the U.S.A.

Baksh was born in Canal Number 1 Polder. West Bank Demerara, Guyana, February, 1943. He was married to Amirule. This union is blessed with three sons and one daughter. Baksh attended McGillivray Canadian Mission School, the Government Training College for Teachers and the University of Guyana from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Education Degree. In the U.S, he completed post graduate studies at Columbia University Teacher Institute. (Frederick Halley)