Cricket’s most famous umpire Dickie Bird dies aged 92

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Harold “Dickie” Bird, perhaps cricket’s most beloved umpire, has died at home in Yorkshire aged 92.

After battling inconsistency as a first-class cricketer, Bird became an umpire in 1970 and went on to officiate in 66 Tests over the next 26 years, earning a reputation for quality decision-making and good humour.

Cricket umpire Dickie Bird has died aged 92.

“Dickie Bird became a national treasure, known not only for his umpiring excellence but also for his eccentricities and warmth. He was appointed an MBE in 1986 and an OBE in 2012 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cricket. He leaves behind a legacy of sportsmanship, humility, and joy — and a legion of admirers across generations,” Yorkshire County Cricket Club said in a statement confirming Bird’s death.

“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.”

That sense of warmth and fun made him a popular cricket character during and after his time in the middle, generating a string of best-selling books, among other things.

Post-retirement, Bird was a strident critic of how much technology was used to make decisions, particularly for lbw.

Bird (right) walks on to the field at Edgbaston in 1973.

Players respected Bird for his concentration, evenhanded decisions and people skills to take the heat out of tense situations, and he was a member of the global panel when neutral umpires were introduced to Test matches in 1994.

Later that year, he was in Karachi when Pakistan beat Australia by a solitary wicket in a game Bird considered one of the best he had seen: the hosts victorious when Inzamam-ul-Haq ran down the pitch to Shane Warne and saw the ball scuttle away for four byes, after Bird missed a slight deflection off the striker’s pad that helped get past keeper Ian Healy.

The year before, Bird had stood at the bowler’s end when Warne delivered his “ball of the century” to flummox and bowl Mike Gatting at Old Trafford.

Of dealing with the fiery Merv Hughes, Bird once said: “I had to have a word with Merv Hughes once. He was bowling to Graeme Hick and he kept playing and missing. Merv’s language was getting worse and worse and I had had enough.

“I turned to him and told him: ‘I want you to be a good boy. Don’t swear anymore.’ He looked at me and said: ‘Dickie Bird, you’re a legend. I won’t swear again.’ He came in next ball and Hick played and missed again. Never swear again? I’ve never heard language like it after that!”

Bird had also presided over the epic inaugural World Cup final at Lord’s in 1975, when Clive Lloyd made a cracking hundred and West Indies outlasted Ian Chappell’s Australians.

Bird’s last Test took place against India at Lord’s in 1996. Afforded a guard of honour and shedding plenty of tears, Bird was nonetheless sharp enough to give England captain Mike Atherton out lbw to Javagal Srinath in the first over of the match.

In later years, Bird served as president of Yorkshire at a time when the club returned to the top of English domestic cricket after some decades in the doldrums.

As for DRS, Bird was always sceptical, arguing that it took umpiring skill out of the game.

“We had to look down for the no-ball, we had to look at any edges, where it pitched - we had all those decisions to make,” he said in 2014.

“Now I think all the authority has been taken away from the umpire.

“It’s like umpiring is now done by a machine. It’s made by electronic aids. It’s very, very sad that umpiring as we knew it is finished. If you asked me who are the best umpires in the world right now, I couldn’t tell you because umpiring is done by a machine.”

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