Umpiring great Dickie Bird dies aged 92

Mumbai: Legendary umpire Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird of England passed away in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, on Tuesday, aged 92. His long-time club, Yorkshire, confirmed his death on Tuesday morning, stating that he died peacefully at home.

“He leaves behind a legacy of sportsmanship, humility, and joy — and a legion of admirers across generations,” Yorkshire informed in a statement on Tuesday.

“The thoughts of everyone at the Yorkshire County Cricket Club are with Dickie’s family and friends during this time. He will be truly missed by all at the Club, having spent an incredible amount of time in support of everyone here, and will be remembered as one of the greatest characters in Yorkshire’s history,” the statement added.

The most loved umpire in the history of the game, Dickie was known as much for his fine decisions as his quirks, like early arrival for matches he officiated, and his reluctance to give players out leg before wicket. He arrived at 6 am to the stadium for an 11 am start and was caught by the security personnel trying to scale the wall into the stadium. That was the second first-class match he officiated, and Dickie Bird continued to maintain this habit throughout his career as a match official.

Born on April 19, 1933, at Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, Dickie officiated 66 Tests, 69 One-day Internationals, and seven Women’s ODIs during an international career spanning from 1973 to 1996, when he finally hung up his white coat.

Dickie Bird took up cricket after a knee injury put paid to his aspirations as a football player, contributing to the game as a player, coach, and umpire.

A right-handed batter and right-arm off-break bowler, Dickie played 93 First-class games for Yorkshire and Leicestershire, scoring 3,314 runs, including two centuries and 14 half-centuries.

After ending his playing career, Dickie Bird coached Plymouth College between 1966 and 1968, and in Johannesburg in 1968 and 1969. He officiated his first County Championship game in 1970 and three years later, was officiating his first Test match, between England and New Zealand at Headingley in Leeds.

Dickie Bird travelled all over the cricketing world to officiate matches and earned the respect of the players and administrators. He was famously reluctant to raise his finger for lbw appeals – several of his decisions would have been quickly overturned in the age of DRS. To make up for this, he would mostly offer the benefit of the doubt to batters.

He was also frequently a victim of pranks by players, especially England stars like Allan Lamb and Ian Botham, who once went into the match with a mobile phone and then called Birdie to pass on a message to the batter on strike.

Bird was appointed an MBE in 1986 and an OBE in 2012 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cricket.

IANS