Dickie Bird dies aged 92.
Harold “Dickie” Bird, cricket’s most famous umpire and one of the most colourful characters in the game, has died at the age of 92.
Yorkshire, the county where Bird was born and for whom he played, announced “with profound sadness” on Tuesday that he had “died peacefully at home”.
After a first-class career with Yorkshire and Leicestershire that spanned 93 matches between 1956 and 1964 but was cut short by injury, Bird became an umpire. He went on to officiate 66 Test matches and 69 one-day internationals, including three World Cup finals, doing so with humour and a distinctive style. He retired from first-class umpiring in 1998.
Bird was born in Barnsley in April 1933, and remained closely associated with Yorkshire CCC. He became the club’s president in 2014 and was a regular attendee at Headingley right up to this summer.
“He leaves behind a legacy of sportsmanship, humility and joy – and a legion of admirers across generations,” read a statement from Yorkshire.
Blogger: Not my only claim to fame but Dickie once approached me in the Trent Bridge Inn to ask me a question. He then seemed to change his mind and veered off. Ah.
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