Former Australian Cricket Board chairman and international umpire Colin Egar passed away in Adelaide.

Egar, who was ill for quite sometime, died on Thursday at the age of 80. A private funeral was held in Adelaide earlier on Friday, according to a Cricket Australia (CA) statement.

CA chairman Creagh O'Connor paid rich tribute to Egar and said, "Col will be best remembered as an outstanding international cricket umpire and for his selfless service to SA and Australian cricket."

Egar was a pre-eminent figure in Australian cricket during the 1960s umpiring. Egar and Col Hoy stood in every match that series, earning the praise of West Indies captain Frank Worrell for calm and unobtrusive umpiring throughout the series.

After retiring from umpiring, Egar became an administrator at board level with the South Australian Cricket Association and the Australian Cricket Board. He served the SACA board from 1971-72 to 1999-2000, including 12 years as vice-president. Egar rose to the top of Australian cricket when he became chairman of the ACB from 1989 to 1992.