The NCU cricket community were desperately sad to hear of the death of Bryan Milford, the long-serving general secretary and a Life Member of the Union.

The terminal illness he has been living with for a number of years finally took his life in hospital on Thursday morning but he bravely carried on as if nothing was happening right up to last month’s NCU Cup final.

Outside his family his loss will be felt most deeply at Cooke Collegians, his first love, although the NCU and Tottenham Hotspur were not far behind. Yes, when I rang Bryan it was usually with a cricket query, but the conversation invariably ended with a chat about the trials and tribulations of our favourite football team.

It was his indefatigable service with the NCU – for many years as a volunteer - that he will be most fondly remembered. His first role was as NCU Treasurer from 1999-2002, he was then chairman in 2004 and 2005, when he was one of the masterminds of the Northern Ireland leg of the ICC Trophy which Ireland hosted and proved to be the start of the team’s entry onto the global stage.

Following the untimely death of Bill McCarroll in 2007, it was Bryan who stepped into the breach as the NCU’s General Secretary and for the next 15 years basically was the go-to man for everyone and everything associated with the union. He certainly was mine and, while many in officialdom are wary of journalists, Bryan was always a most generous help and advice for many of my stories.

When he stepped back from the role because of his ill health, he was rewarded with the honour of NCU president in 2024, which gave him such pleasure.

Fittingly, there was still time for him to be receive the Honorary Life Membership of the Union at last year’s AGM and his unprompted speech was another masterpiece.

He will be missed but never forgotten.

Bryan’s funeral is on Wednesday September 16 in St John’s, Malone, Belfast, at 10.30am.