Beloved umpiring legend Dickie Bird dies, aged 92

Dickie Bird, the heralded former Test cricket umpire beloved across the game, has died at the age of 92.

- LAWRENCE OSTLERE

His passing was announced by Yorkshire Cricket Club, who said in a statement yesterday: “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 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."

Bird set records for the most Test matches (66) and one-day internationals (69) umpired, during a long and storied officiating career that spanned 26 years, and he became perhaps the most popular official in all of sport. His eccentricities added to his charm and made for some memorable anecdotes.

As his great friend, the late journalist and TV host Michael Parkinson, said: "Only Shakespeare could have invented a character so full of life's rich juices as Dickie Bird. Cricket's genius has been to accommodate his foibles and celebrate his humour."

Harold Dennis Bird picked up the nickname "Dickie" at school, and it stuck throughout his life. The son of a coal miner, Bird grew up in Barnsley and was proud both of his working-class roots and of his identity as a Yorkshireman, going on to represent his county. His image remains cast in bronze on a high plinth on Barnsley's Church Lane, where he was born. The statue had to be raised to stop people from hanging things often women's underwear - on his outstretched finger.