Cricket mourns loss of 'beloved' Bird, 92

HAROLD 'Dickie' Bird, who transcended his role as a Test umpire to become one of the most recognisable figures in his sport, has died peacefully at the age of 92.

- BY MARK STANIFORTH

Yorkshire County Cricket Club said it was with “profound sadness” that they announced the death of Bird, their club president since 2014, describing him as “one of the greatest characters in Yorkshire’s history”.

Bird retired from a modest playing career at the age of 32 because of injury. He officiated a county match for the first time in 1970, a career move that would come to define him.

By the time he retired, having officiated in 66 Test matches and three World Cup finals, Bird had become bigger than cricket, selling more than a million copies of his autobiography and appearing on the BBC's Desert Island Discs - for which his book of choice was the Wisden Almanack.