incident on humanitarian grounds, after Denness underwent heart surgery. In March 2002, Denness' role as a match referee came to an end, when the ICC rejected his bid for their newly formed Elite Panel of Referees, although he had been put forward by the ECB as a candidate. Later life Denness became a committee member at Kent, and was chairman of cricket at Kent until he resigned in 2004 over a dispute involving Andrew Symonds. He was president of Kent County Cricket Club in 2012–13, Denness was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to sport. He published his autobiography, I Declare, in 1977. He was an inaugural member of the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame and was a member of the Scottish Cricket Hall of Fame. He married his childhood sweetheart, Molly, in 1964. They had a son and two daughters. They were divorced. Denness died at the age of 72, on 19 April 2013, after a long battle with cancer. He was survived by his partner, Doreen Wadlow, and his three children. See also List of Test cricketers born in non-Test playing nations References Further reading Obituary, The Guardian, 19 April 2013 Obituary, The Telegraph, 19 April 2013 Obituary, The Scotsman, 20 April 2013 Obituary, The Independent, 22 April 2013 Mike Denness Obituary and Funeral Arrangements, Kent County Cricket Club, 24 April 2013 External links 1940 births 2013 deaths Deaths from cancer in England Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup Cricket match referees England One Day International cricketers England Test cricketers England Test cricket captains Essex cricketers International Cavaliers cricketers Kent cricketers Kent cricket captains Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Ayr Academy Presidents of Kent County Cricket Club Sportspeople from Bellshill Scottish cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year Scotland cricketers Scottish cricket captains Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers A. E. R. Gilligan's XI cricketers D. H. Robins' XI cricketers Ayr RFC players Marylebone Cricket Club President's XI cricketers