FAREWELL TO TRUE LEGEND OF THE GAME

Dickie Bird... proud Yorkie whose popularity transcended umpiring

- BY RORY DOLLARD

DICKIE BIRD achieved only moderate success in his playing career but once he traded his bat for an umpire's coat he became a cricketing icon.

Good umpires normally go unnoticed but Bird, who has died at the age of 92, was the exception to that rule — an outstanding umpire and impossible to ignore.

Although the quintessential Yorkshire cricket man, his good nature, vivid character and magnetic attraction to unlikely or amusing circumstances saw his legend outgrow geographical and sporting borders.

His autobiography chalked up more than a million sales, becoming the nation's biggest selling sports book, and he entertained the public for years as a TV personality and travelling raconteur.