ESPNcricinfo
Harold “Dickie” Bird, one of the most beloved umpires in cricket’s history, has died at the age of 92.
Bird, who officiated in 66 Tests and 69 ODIs, including three World Cup finals, was synonymous with his home county, Yorkshire, for whom he began his career as a top-order batter in 1956, and later went on to serve as Yorkshire president in 2014.
He averaged 20.71 in 93 first-class matches, making two centuries, including a best of 181 not out against Glamorgan in 1959. But when, after moving to Leicestershire in 1960, his career was cut short by injury four years later, his switch to umpiring would set him on the path to becoming a household name.
Bird’s idiosyncrasies would become part of his appeal, including his famously anxious attitude to timekeeping. Having made his umpiring debut in May 1970, he travelled to London for his second match – Surrey versus Yorkshire at The Oval – arrived at 6 am for an 11 am start, and was caught by a policeman attempting to scale the wall of the still-locked ground.
As an umpire, he was famously reluctant to raise his finger for lbw appeals – several of his decisions would have been quickly overturned in the age of DRS. In mitigation, he was at least consistent in offering the benefit of the doubt to batters … with one possible exception. On the morning of his final Test, England versus India at Lord’s, he arrived in the middle with tears in his eyes after a guard of honour from the players. And duly gave Mike Atherton out lbw in the first over of the match.
Other memorable moments included his decision, during the West Indies Test at Old Trafford in 1995, to call a halt to play for an excess of sunlight, which had been reflecting off a greenhouse behind the bowler’s arm. In that same fixture, as related by Atherton in his autobiography, Bird dropped the pocketful of marbles that he used to count the deliveries in an over.
“Play was halted momentarily while Dickie scrambled around on his hands and knees looking for his counters,” Atherton wrote. “‘I’ve lost my marbles! I’ve lost my marbles! He cried. Most of us thought he had lost his marbles a long time ago.”
He was frequently the victim of practical jokes – particularly at the hands of Ian Botham and Allan Lamb. On one occasion, Lamb arrived at the middle with his 1980s brick-style mobile phone still in his pocket. Bird duly stashed it in his coat, whereupon Botham rang the device from the dressing-room, telling a startled Bird to pass on a message for his team-mate to get a move on.
