One of the JCT600 Bradford League’s most distinguished figures has been presented with a prestigious national award at a special presentation.

Derek Shuttleworth, who has served the league as an umpire and scorer for 48 years, was named the 2012 winner of the Lifetime Achiever Award at the England and Wales Cricket Board’s Association of Cricket Officials' Shepherd Frindell Awards.

And he received the trophy from former England scorer Malcolm Ashton, a past scoring colleague of Shuttleworth, during the Yorkshire Cricket Board ECB ACO annual meeting at Copley.

Also present at the ceremony was popular former Test umpire John Holder, who was guest speaker.

Shuttleworth, 83, was nominated for the award by the Yorkshire Cricket Board ECB ACO, and was revealed as the latest recipient at the ECB ACO's annual meeting and national conference in London in October.

Shuttleworth, who was made a life-member of the JCT600 Bradford League earlier this year and won the coveted Sir Leonard Hutton award for services to the league in 1998, wasn't present at the ceremony.

He was attending a family event so the award was collected on his behalf by fellow JCT600 Bradford League umpire Philip Radcliffe, who is chairman of the Yorkshire Cricket Board and a senior official of the ECB ACO.

Shuttleworth said: "It was a total surprise when I received a call from the ECB ACO chief executive Nick Cousins.

“As I had already arranged to go to York to a family event, I had to tell them that I would be unable to travel to London .

"It was a big thrill to hear that I got a standing ovation at the awards ceremony, even though I wasn't there."

JCT600 Bradford League president Keith Moss paid tribute to Shuttleworth, saying: "This a wonderful and well-deserved award for Derek, who has been a great servant of our league, first as an umpire and more recently as scorer for Bankfoot.

"On behalf of the league, I would like to congratulate him on receiving this honour from the ECB ACO."

The citation, which was read out at the awards ceremony, is a a fitting tribute to Shuttleworth's outstanding achievements.

It said: "Derek commenced umpiring in the Bradford League in 1964 when he gave up playing.

“He continued to umpire in the league for 45 years until his health prevented him from standing for long periods. Derek stood in over 1,000 games in the Bradford Cricket League.

"However, at the age of 80, he then became a club scorer in the league with Bankfoot and then mastered the Total Cricket Scorer (TCS) system which all scorers in the league have to use. He is still an active scorer in season 2012.

"Derek was responsible for setting up the West Yorkshire Branch of the Association of Cricket Umpires (ACU) around 1970, a branch of which he was chairman for many, many years.

"He has been an umpire tutor for about 40 years and served the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers (ACU&S) as regional training officer for the north east region, and chairman of the ACU training committee. He is also a qualified scorer tutor.

"Derek was chairman of the Bradford Cricket League Umpires’ Association for over 20 years and is now their president.

"A schoolteacher by profession, he put all his educational skills into delivering his courses. His method of teaching was thorough and would always work at the pace of the slowest candidate.

"He would tutor anywhere in our large county and has also been known to go across to Lancashire to deliver both umpire and scorer courses.

"I cannot begin to guess the number of candidates he has tutored over the years but what I am certain is that a very high percentage will have passed their exams, and Derek’s knowledge and professionalism will have helped these recruits in being able to put into practise on the field what Derek has taught them in the classroom.

"His commitment to the game is second to none and he is always willing to pass on his advice to any new umpire or scorer.

"He still regularly attends meetings and always wants the last word, especially on points of law.

"He still very much supports the work of ECB ACO and is president of the Leeds Branch.

"A true gentleman, Derek was and still is well respected by players, captains and fellow umpires and scorers.

"His commitment to cricket officiating in Yorkshire is outstanding and remarkable for nigh on 50 years."