Byron Denning, Glamorgan`s genial and most respected scorer died yesterday at the age of 73 after a short illness.

`Dasher` joined the county`s committee in the early 1970`s, and in 1983 he took over as the club`s scorer. He subsequently became part and parcel of one of the most successful Glamorgan teams on record, as the Welsh county won the Sunday League title in 1993, reached the final of the B&H Cup in 2000, and to Byron`s delight, won the County Championship in 1997. Indeed, tears of sheer joy were flowing down Byron`s face as he joined the team in the dressing room at Taunton after they had beaten Somerset to win the coveted title.

Since 1983, his face was one of the most familiar sights on Glamorgan`s grounds, whilst his voice was heard over the public address system, as he doubled up on his duties as the club`s match-day announcer.

His gentle humour and dry wit over the tannoy have enlightened many a dull day. Indeed, it was `Dasher` who once at Abergavenny told mothers to put their hands over the ears of any small children as he read out Glamorgan`s bowling figures after they had been on the receiving end of a mauling by the visiting Worcestershire batsmen.

Another gem took place at Pentyrch in 1993, when Glamorgan visited the tiny club ground north of Cardiff, for the first and only time. The ground, set in open countryside, had virtually no distinguishing features apart from a small pavilion, but Dasher was not put off, and he duly `christened` the southern end "The Sea End", as it was the one closest to the Severn, some ten miles or so away!

Last night, Steve James led the tributes to Dasher. "It's a great blow for Glamorgan cricket as Byron was part of the furniture at the club - a brilliant bloke always with a laugh and a joke. He was a great friend of the players, but he would never get involved on the technical side. He would always have a kind word for a player if they had played well, but he never said anything if you had done badly. Byron knew exactly how to approach each situation and he was always someone you looked forward to seeing on away trips in the team hotel or at the ground"

Byron`s loyal service to the county was recognised last summer when he scored for England in the Test match against Pakistan at Lord`s. "Byron used to love telling me about winning his first cap, "said James. " It meant a lot to him but it was nothing more than he deserved."

Glamorgan chief executive Mike Fatkin has also paid tribute to Dasher -"He was a thoroughly decent fellow and one of my favourite people in the game, " he said. "He was consistently happy and had a mischievous sense of humour, even laughing at the faux pas he sometimes made on the public address system."

"I've spoken to several of the players and they are all very upset at the news. He had their total respect and was a great friend to them. He used to get quite agitated when they weren't doing so well, although he never showed it, and he enjoyed their successes as much as anyone."

"During his time as the club`s scorer, there have been many changes to the way the scoring is undertaken, especially with the introduction of computers. I admired the way he handled the changes. Many scorers didn't want to know after those changes and gave up scoring. But Byron's attitude was that he wanted to learn and continue scoring for Glamorgan. It was as if nothing was going to beat him and stop him doing something that he enjoyed. That showed the mark of the man and I know that most - if not all - the scorers on the county circuit will be very upset to hear about Byron's death."

© Glamorgan CCC/CricInfo