Nigel Plews was a rarity among leading umpires in that he had never played first-class cricket and had worked as a detective in the fraud squad in his home city of Nottingham. His background and height of 6ft 6in ensured that few cricketers would dare utter dissent at his decisions in the middle. He stood in 11 Test matches and 16 one-day internationals between 1986 and 1996.

In retirement, Plews continued to attract interest from the media. Inoperable kidney cancer was diagnosed last year and initially he was refused treatment from the Nottinghamshire Primary Care Trust, which claimed that spending £20,000 on the drug Sutent was beyond their budget.

Darrell Hair, the Australian Test match umpire, was among those who raised £4,000 through organisations, including a professional cricketers welfare trust, and the ensuing publicity resulted in Plews being given the requisite treatment. He was aware that this would prolong his life, not save it, but made a strong plea for fellow sufferers not to be denied such treatment in the future.

Nigel Trevor Plews was born in Nottingham and was educated at the Mundella Grammar School. He was a club cricketer in the area, combining this with working for 25 years as a detective sergeant in the fraud squad. At the start of his umpiring career in 1981, having progressed from standing in second XI cricket, he experienced the biting cold weather that so often prevails at Fenner’s in April. He and Don Oslear, who was officiating with him, had to take Cambridge University and Essex off the field for an early lunch because they considered it “unreasonable and dangerous to continue because of the extreme cold”.

Plews served on the first-class panel from 1982-99. He gained a reputation for giving a batsman the benefit of the doubt rather than putting his finger up straight away. His appearance was distinctive, for apart from his considerable height he wore white cotton wool under his white cap to protect his balding head from the sun.

Plews was affectionately known within the game as “Plod” or “Sarge”, and in retirement advised MCC and ICC on umpiring matters, pooling his information from every Test-playing nation. He wrote books on the laws of cricket, which he knew thoroughly; took part in seminars abroad; and became the first person to gain an honorary fellowship from the Institute of Cricket Umpires and Scorers. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, a son and a daughter.

Nigel Plews, policeman and umpire, was born on September 5, 1934. He died on October 19, 2008, aged 74