London, Sept 23: Renowned and much-adored umpire Harold “Dickie” Bird died at the age of 92.
Bird officiated in 66 Tests and 69 ODIs in a long career spanning between 1973 and 1996.
In fact, Bird’s last Test was the 1996 Lord’s Test between India and England in which former skippers Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly made their debut in the traditional format.
“It is with profound sadness that The Yorkshire County Cricket Club announces the passing of Harold Dennis “Dickie” Bird MBE OBE, one of cricket’s most beloved figures, who died peacefully at home at the age of 92,” the county club said in a statement.
“He leaves behind a legacy of sportsmanship, humility, and joy — and a legion of admirers across generations,” Yorkshire added.
Bird had a long association with Yorkshire, starting his first-class career with the county in 1956, and before ending his career in 1964, Bird made 3,314 runs from 93 matches with two hundreds.
“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 the greatest characters in Yorkshire’s history,” the club said.
Bird was appointed an MBE in 1986 and an OBE in 2012 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cricket, and formed a famous on field alliance with countryman late David Shepherd, who died in 2009.
Bird was also a favourite with the spectators and the players alike for the accuracy of his decisions and idiosyncrasies which included arriving at the match venue as early as 6 am.
During a 1974 Test match at Old Trafford against England, Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar got a haircut from Bird because his hair kept getting into his eyes.
The Englishman used a pair of scissors he kept to cut threads from the ball’s seam to trim Gavaskar’s hair mid-match, later exclaiming: “What all umpires need to carry.”
But Bird was always a likeable figure on the field, and the best players of his time held him in high esteem.
“They all rated me the best: Sobers, Richards, Lillee and Botham. That means a lot I can tell you,” he had admitted once.
Bird remained unmarried but made some great friend circles including late Queen Elizabeth, frequenting to her tea parties, writer Stephen King and a generation of British Prime Ministers such as John Major.
Bird wrote two best-sellers — My Autobiography with Keith Lodge and The White Cap and Bails.
After retiring from umpiring, Bird kept himself active through quiz sessions, after dinner talks and chat shows, which were highly entertaining. (PTI)
