Boycott leads the tributes in hailing Bird as ‘best in the world’

SIR Geoffrey Boycott gave a touching eulogy at the funeral of Dickie Bird, praising his fellow Yorkshireman as “the best umpire in the world”.

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Dickie Bird

Bird died last month at the age of 92 and his life was celebrated yesterday in a service at St Mary's Church in his hometown of Barnsley.

The Yorkshire cricket family turned out in force to pay their respects to one of the sport's most beloved figures, with former England captain Michael Vaughan joining the fellow White Rose favourites Martyn Moxon, David Byas, Geoff Cope and Gavin Hamilton in the pews.

Boycott, 84, shared speaking duties with Yorkshire chair Colin Graves, with the pair taking turns to pay affectionate tribute to their old friend, who was born Harold Dennis Bird but became known universally by his nickname.