Billy Doctrove was formerly a FIFA football referee and it was only in 1997 that he quit refereeing for football matches to concentrate full time on umpiring. He is still the President of the Dominican Football Referees Association and President of the Windward Islands Cricket Umpires Association. He has been nicknamed Toshack, after the ex-Liverpool striker.

He served four years on the ICC’s International Umpires Panel before being promoted to the Elite list. His promotion to the ICC Elite Panel in 2006 was followed by a controversy unparalled in the history of the game. He, along with Daryl Hair at the Oval, accused Pakistan team for ball tampering and consequently awarded five runs to the English team. The match was called off when Pakistan team refused to come out to the field after tea.