'Loved by so many': tributes as umpire Dickie Bird dies aged 92

Tributes from across the sporting and political landscape rolled in after the death of the cricket umpire Dickie Bird, at 92. Bird, despite never having played a match for England was, at his peak, instantly recognisable, and transcended the game.

- Tanya Aldred

Bird stood in 66 Test matches and 69 one-day internationals, including three World Cup finals, and was much admired for his decision making, but it was the idiosyncratic way in which he officiated - with a grin, an obsession with incoming rain, and an eccentric flair - that made him such a fan and player favourite.

"He was a national treasure and I was fortunate to have shared some hugely enjoyable times with him over the years," wrote the former prime minister David Cameron. "At 92 he had a good innings. Farewell friend."

Bird always seemed to be stalked by incident and accidentonce leading the players off at Old Trafford after bright sunlight stopped play and sitting on the covers at Lord's alongside spectators while the police investigated a bomb threat in 1973. He also claimed to have bumped into a bus conductor who was wearing the hat stolen from his head during the 1975 World Cup final, one of a string of anecdotes that filled his many books - he sold more than a million copies of his autobiography.