Dickie Bird | England Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo ODI statistics Profile Dickie Bird's white cap, twitching shoulders and forearm stretch became as much a part of the day out as the battle between bat and ball. He seemed to attract minor incident, without ever allowing the day to be soured by controversy. Burst pipes, reflecting windscreens and bomb scares all conspired to trouble him, but each impostor was met with humour and Yorkshire-bred common sense. Notorious for being an early Bird (he once made it to The Oval at 6am, so nervous was he about being late and was five-hours early to meet the Queen on one occasion), and plagued by bad weather he made the transition from cricketing figure to something close to a national institution. A favourite among the public who took to his idiosyncrasies, Bird was equally admired and respected by the players. He diffused many a situation that a lesser umpire may have allowed to escalate, typically with common sense and good humour. Most importantly, he simply made few mistakes. "They all rated me the best: Sobers, Richards, Lillee and Botham. That means a lot I can tell you," he admitted.

Harold "Dickie" Bird was born in Barnsley in April 1933. 5'10" and a right-hand batsman, Bird played in a Barnsley side that included Geoff Boycott and the journalist Michael Parkinson, with whom he remained friends. A good enough player to have represented Yorkshire during their period of dominance (debuting in 1956 against Scotland), a regular first team place eluded him in such a strong side (his career best performance 181* against Glamorgan at Bradford in 1959 was rewarded with omission from the next game as the senior players returned from Test duty) and he moved to Leicestershire at the end of that year. He won his county cap in his first season, 1960, in which he topped 1,000 first-class runs, but later referred to the decision to leave Yorkshire as "the biggest mistake of my life". Bird retired relatively early, aged just 32, and spent a few years coaching and playing as a club professional.

He later admitted to regret that his playing career had not been more successful (first-class average: 20.71): "I just wish I'd have believed in myself as a batsman the way I do as an umpire," he told The Cricketer (November 1998) during his final match as an umpire. "I had the ability I can tell you. If you had compared me to Boycott in the nets you would have picked me as the Test player. Ray Illingworth said I played as straight as anyone he'd ever seen. Umpiring has been good to me, but it is the second-best thing to playing." Bird officiated his first game in 1970, with his first Test coming against New Zealand at Leeds in 1973. In 1992 he stood in Zimbabwe's inaugural Test as the first ICC panel umpire. A guard of honour by the players and a standing ovation from the crowd as England took on India in 1996 marked his final Test, at his beloved Lord's. Bird, always an emotional man, was reduced to tears.

In all he officiated in 66 Tests and 69 One-Day Internationals, overtaking Frank Chester's record (of 48 Tests) in Zimbabwe in 1996. His final first-class game was at Headingley, between Yorkshire and Warwickshire in 1998. Bird was awarded the MBE in June 1986 in the Queen's Birthday Honours List ("It means more to me than my life," he commented) and became a frequent tea-time visitor at the Palace, apparently attending more than 20 times. He gained other remarkable friends, including former Prime Minister John Major, billionaire cricket fanatic John Paul Getty and the thriller writer Stephen King. "I wish I'd had a family. That's where I missed out in life," he lamented on his retirement but his oft-repeated phrase was that he was "married to the game." Bird's real legacy will be top-quality umpiring. Calm, despite his nervous disposition; consistent, despite his erratic body movements; and unimpeachably impartial despite his obvious love for all things Yorkshire and England, Bird added to the enjoyment of the spectators without ever detracting from the cricket.

Maybe a little reluctant to give lbw decisions, (he would argue "the Laws state I have to be certain"), he has expressed reservations about the marginalisation of umpires by technology in recent times. A busy retirement, in which he revels in the new role of a media personality, has seen the ubiquitous Bird appear on quiz and chat shows, embark on a speaking tour where his routine of anecdotes provokes great amusement and improve upon each telling. He has produced several books, including My Autobiography with Keith Lodge, the biggest selling sports book of all time and the follow-up White Cap and Bails, another best-seller. George Dobell Dickie Bird Interviews THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Dickie Bird, cricket umpire, was surprised by Michael Aspel at the studios of Yorkshire Television, during a ‘mocked up’ interview. He began his career playing club cricket in Barnsley before signing with his home county Yorkshire in 1956. He played first-class cricket as a batsman for Yorkshire and Leicestershire in the English County Championship until 1964. After his county career, he coached and played league cricket before becoming an umpire.

His time as an umpire made him a household name, an eccentric, and one of the most loved and respected characters in world cricket. His idiosyncratic style and infectious humour endeared him to millions, transcending his sport. “Are you serious?” Dickie Bird recalls his experience of This Is Your Life in an exclusive interview recorded in June 2012 Visit our You Tube channel Screenshots of Dickie Bird This Is Your Life (click images to enlarge) Dickie recalls his experience of This Is Your Life in his autobiography My Autobiography, reproduced here with kind permission of the author... It was a great honour to be the subject of This is Your Life on television. People often wonder if the celebrities really are as surprised as they look when they are confronted with the famous red book. Well, I don’t know about the others, but as far as I was concerned I did not have the slightest inkling of what was going to happen. I had a telephone call from Don Mosey, the well-known cricket commentator, asking me if I would go on a Yorkshire Television programme to relate some of my funny cricketing stories.

We arranged to record it during a break in my trip up to Durham for a county championship match, and I emphasised that it shouldn’t take too long because I wanted to get to the north east in good time for an overnight stay before the match began. When I arrived at the studios in Leeds I was told that they were not quite ready for me, and I said, ‘Well, just remember, I’m in a big hurry. I’ve got to get up to Durham. I can’t hang about all day.’ Eventually they got the set ready and the show began to roll. I sat and chatted to Don in front of a television audience, but what I did not realise was that it was made up of television workers and backroom staff enlisted to make me believe that the show was for real. Everything went swimmingly until he asked me, ‘Tell me, what’s the most awkward situation you have encountered in your career?’ Now, I wasn’t expecting that. It was one question I had not been given notice of, and I felt a rising sense of panic as I cast around in my mind for something to say. ‘Well?’ probed Don. ‘Er, awkward moments eh? Well, let me see now. The most awkward moment.

Er, well, ee, Don, that’s a bit er…’ It was then that Michael Aspel walked on. ‘Hello, Michael,’ I said. ‘What are you doing here? Are you on the show as well?’ He produced the famous red book and replied, ‘No, you are on the show with me. Dickie Bird, this is your life.’ Don Mosey’s question was finally answered. Here was the most awkward situation of my career. I could not believe it. They had to take me into a dressing room to calm me down – and it took a glass or three of champagne to do that! Then I was led into a bigger studio where there were so many people I knew. Sir Garfield Sobers had even flown from the other side of the world to be there. There were filmed tributes from Dennis Lillee in Australia, Ian Botham , Vivian Richards , Graham Gooch , Michael Parkinson, Brian Johnston – and even John Major. When they got in touch with him he said that normally he would not do such a thing, but for Dickie Bird, yes.

All the Yorkshire team was there to support me, along with former players Geoffrey Boycott, Raymond Illingworth , Brian Close and Freddie Trueman , with John Hampshire representing the umpires. Alf Broadhead, the man who took me under his wing at Shaw Lane when they turned me away as a youngster, was brought on in a wheelchair, and that was a very emotional moment for me. When ‘Chunky’ Charlton, my old pit manager at Monk Bretton Colliery, walked on, I blurted out, Mr Charlton … I thought you were dead.’ As well as my family, other guests included Stan Richards , who plays Seth in Emmerdale ; Ashley Jackson the painter; Kathy Mutch, the widow of my old friend and solicitor, Duncan Mutch; Barnsley Chronicle sports editor Keith Lodge, who had been a big help to me during my career; my chemist, Brian Ellison; Jack Sokell, Lord and Lady Mason, and John and Pat Perry. Producer Malcolm Morris recalls the experience of this particular edition of This Is Your Life in his book This Is My Life...

…Downing Street was being redecorated… when Prime Minister John Major agreed to film a message for This Is Your Life I had to shoot it at a very luxurious room at Admiralty House. Mr Major is a great cricket fan and was especially fond of the famous cricket umpire Dickie Bird. I had been advised that Dickie was a very shy man indeed and would not take kindly to the programme. Others advised for it and we decided to chance it. The Prime Minister’s message would be the icing on the cake. Waiting for the Prime Minister reminded me of when I filmed Margaret Thatcher, who had insisted on filming her spot again because she thought she could do it better. Mr Major arrived and expressed to me his admiration of Dickie Bird. I was at a loss because I know nothing of cricket and was reluctant to tell the PM of my one-game school cricket career. We therefore had very little to discuss other than how I was going to film him and where. ‘How long do you want?’ he asked me, and I said two minutes or so would be fine. Mr Major was excellent. He delivered a moving message into the camera and I was delighted. Then he surprised me by saying exactly what Mrs Thatcher had said.

‘I think I’d like to do it again. I can do it better,’ and he did. What is it they say about great minds? programme details... Broadcast date: Wed 7 Oct 1992 Recording date: Tue 8 Sep 1992 Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm Directors: Brian Klein, Malcolm Morris Associate Producer: John Graham The Best Cricket Umpires of All Time The Best Cricket Umpires of All Time Tweet People often tend to forget that in a game of cricket, it is not 11 players of each who are participating in it. There is a match referee and more importantly, a set of umpires to make decisions as to how the match will progress. However, here the focus is on the two umpires who grace the cricket field. Had it not been for good umpiring standards, no person would ever watch cricket again for the rest of his life since he wants to see a fair game of cricket. And to make the game reasonable is the responsibility of the umpire, whose duty is to make decisions impartially.

A player always seem to get the credit and maximum popularity in cricket, but not umpires despite the fact that they have to stand for 90 overs per day in a Test match or for 100 overs in a one-day match, without getting a long break and has to keep his focus intact on the occurrence of all events on the field and on every delivery so that he makes correct decisions. To maintain high levels of concentration and physical fitness is extremely difficult in this professions and this piece salutes those men who have been able to do for a long period of time. Here are a few examples. 1) Harold Dennis Bird (Dickie Bird) (England) Commonly known as Dickie Bird, he was born on April 19, 1933 in a place called Barnsley in the county Yorkshire in England. Harold Dennis Bird a.k.a Dickie is the best Cricket Umpire of all time Dickie Bird was a high school dropout, having failed his board exams. Yet, he worked in a coal mine with his father until he decided to leave that too since he thought that he would succeed in a sporting profession. His first love however, was football.

But due to an injury, he could continue pursuing the game and instead turned to cricket. During the period between 1956 and 1964, he played first-class cricket as a batsman with his home team Yorkshire and later on, Leicestershire. He then took up coaching for a while, before deciding to become an umpire. Within three years of umpiring in county cricket, he was promoted to do the job in international cricket as well. His first Test match where he officiated as an umpire was when England were playing New Zealand in his home ground Headingley at Leeds. In this game itself, he gained recognition for stopping play due to fluctuating weather conditions and not declaring batsmen out leg before wicket. He came under heavy controversy during a Test match between England and Australia at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in 1980, which incidentally happened to be the centenary Test between the two sides. It is because he did not permit play to begin on the morning of the first day’s play, due to the overnight rain which waterlogged some parts of the field.

This is reasonable but not so much before the morning had pleasant sunshine and play could have been started much earlier than the eventual time of 3:45 pm. Dickie Bird has officiated in 66 Test matches which was once a world record. As well as 69 one-day internationals, which included the World Cup finals of 1975, 1979 and 1983. After the 1975 final, his famous white hat was lost and humorously he found it a year later on the head of a bus conductor in South London who had taken it off his head when there was a crowd invasion after West Indies won the match, deliberately. One of the best features of Bird’s umpiring is not just his mixture of intuition and reasoning, but also the respect that he was able to earn from any player due to his great sense of humour. That was the main reason why he was given a ‘guard of honour’ by the English and the Indian players in his final Test match as umpire at Lords in 1996, a game which was drawn but otherwise known for Sourav Ganguly’s debut hundred and Rahul Dravid’s 95.

He was also given a standing ovation from the crowd, a rarity for an international umpire. He received the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2012 for his contributions to the game of cricket and charity. 2) David Shepherd (England) David Shepherd is by far one of the world’s most popular umpires, even after his unfortunate expiry in 2009. David Shepherd David Shepherd was born in Bideford, Devon on December 27, 1940. He had an illustrious playing career for the English county, Gloucestershire having represented the team for as many as 14 years and in that time, gaining the reputation of being pugnacious as a middle order batsman who once knocked the ball so hard that it injured a spectator who was reading a newspaper, and had to be taken to hospital. After two years of retiring as a player from county cricket, he qualified to officiate as an umpire in it in 1981.

His rise was rapid as he was identified to be one of the most capable umpires around in the circuit and the most impartial, which made him debut in international cricket as an umpire in the 1983 World Cup in England, in a match between Asian rivals Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Swansea. Whereas his Test debut was in the 1985 Ashes Series in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, Manchester. Incidentally, the other umpire who took field with him was Dickie Bird. Ever since, Shepherd had become one of the most proficient and popular umpires in the world cricket, with many rating him as the best to have umpired in the game of cricket. Moreover, his roly-poly figure and his light-hearted character had become his trademark over the years. But he will always be remembered the most for his incredible superstition of doing a little ‘jig’ or hop whenever any score would reach 111, also referred to as ‘Nelson’ or its multiples since it is considered unlucky for a batsman in English culture. Plus, whenever he used to signal a boundary, he had his own style of doing so, by shaking his right hand instead of sliding it across smoothly.

This action is imitated by many cricket spectators when a four is hit, even these days. David Shepherd was one of the few umpires to be inducted in the ICC’s first ever panel of neutral umpires when it was introduced in the 1990s and maintained his place in it until his retirement from both Tests and ODIs in 2005, as his career spanned for more than two decades. He officiated in 172 ODIs, which included World Cup finals in 1999, 2003 and 2007. As well as 92 Tests, which ranks him third in the all time list of umpires who have officiated in the most number of Test matches, after West Indies’ Steve Bucknor and South Africa’s Rudi Koertzen. He was given a guard of honour by Australia and New Zealand’s teams in a Test series in New Zealand in 2005 when he stepped out on a cricket field and after his final Test which was in Jamaica between West Indies and Pakistan, Brian Lara, the cricketing legend gifted him a bat with a message which was filled with gratitude towards Shepherd’s services, memories and professionalism in umpiring.

Shepherd was also awarded the Member of the British Empire in 1987 for his achievements in cricket. And married his long time girlfriend in 2008, a year before he expired due to lung cancer which was a tragic end to his life. 3) Steve Bucknor (West Indies) Stephen Anthony Bucknor is by far one of the most experienced umpires to have ever officiated in the game of cricket, with 128 Test matches and 181 one-day internationals, spanning exactly 20 years. Steve Bucknor - The most experienced Cricket umpire The West Indian was born in Montego Bay, St James, Jamaica on May 31, 1946 and is also one of the tallest umpires in cricket, being 6 feet 3 inches tall. He was earlier a mathematics teacher at high school level and sports coach as well, before actually officiating as a match referee in a FIFA World Cup qualifier match between El Salvador and the Netherlands Antilles in 1988.

However, whatever happens does happen for the best as Bucknor had to quit being referee due to his age being 45 and the football rules do not allow anyone to be referee at this age or above. So, this made him take up umpiring in cricket instead having played cricket in his hometown and stumped by incorrect decisions taken time and again in the matches, which improved his judgement further. He made his international debut as an umpire was in a one-day international between West Indies and India at St. John’s, Antigua in March 1989, while in Tests his debut was in the same series at his home ground in Kingston, Jamaica. He reached a peak point, so much so that within three years in which he had umpired in a handful of games, he was still picked to officiate in the World Cup 1992 in Australia and New Zealand and more importantly was one of the umpires in the grand finale between Pakistan and England. In the 1990s, alongside David Shepherd, Steve Bucknor was chosen in the panel of neutral umpires until a change of policy in 2002.

While he maintained his place in the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires until his retirement in March 2009. But he is the most distinctive since he is referred to as the ‘Slow Death’, due to the fact that he took a considerable amount of time to make an lbw decision and when he had made up his mind; he would nod gently and slowly raise that dreaded index finger of his. Steve Bucknor was the on-field umpire in the 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007 World Cup finals, a terrific achievement for any umpire, which goes to show how much he was relied by the ICC to maintain the spirit of the game. Although agreed that it was due to his misinterpretation of the rules regarding how to conduct the game with respect to bad light that ruined the finish of the 2007 World Cup final in Barbados, which Australia eventually won.

However, for Indian fans he will always remain a villain for his poor umpiring decisions in matches involving India which included the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in the Brisbane Test against Australia in 2003, against Pakistan in 2004 and 2005 and more famously, the 2008 Sydney Test match where he was responsible for India’s defeat which could have been a victory due to pathetic decisions, which was the result of a tremendous workload set for him by the ICC. He was suspended for the World T20 2007 in South Africa and from the third Test at Perth of the Australia-India series in 2008. Yet, he remains one of the most legendary umpires to have graced the cricket field and consequently, was presented with an award in Cape Town after officiating in his final Test match in 2009, involving South Africa and Australia. Whereas, his last ODI was between West Indies and England at Barbados a month later. In his hometown Jamaica, he was awarded the Order of Jamaica, Commander Class for “outstanding services in the field of sports”.

While the ICC awarded him with the Bronze Bail Award for officiating in more than 100 ODIs and the Golden Bail Award for completing a double of officiating in more than 100 Tests. 4) Simon Taufel (Australia) Born on January 21, 1971 in an area called St Leonard’s in Sydney, Simon Taufel will go down as one of those umpires whose decisions were as accurate as that of an answer in a calculator of a mathematical problem. Simon Taufel This is why he is the most liked contemporary umpires by many, with the likes of David Shepherd and Steve Bucknor not missed as much. He is the personification of the tagline ‘Simplicity is style’, with no features in him which make him look innovative as such. He has been the member of the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires since its inception and has won the ICC Umpire Award of the Year four times on the trot, between the years 2004 and 2008 which is easily a record by any umpire of all time.

This is amazing, considering the fact that this was a man whose playing career was cut short by a back injury and had no intentions of ever becoming an umpire even at first class level at a point of time. It was due to one of his friends that he was able to overcome the trauma of not playing cricket and instead taking up the distinguished career of being an umpire. His rise in becoming a cricket umpire was at a brisk pace, having passed an exam to umpire in grade cricket in Sydney and then first class cricket at the age of 24. Within the next five years, he was seen umpiring for the first time in a one-day international between Australia and Sri Lanka at his hometown Sydney in January 1999, eight days before his 28th birthday. And then he made his umpiring debut in Test cricket in a match between Australia and West Indies at Melbourne in December 2000. He has the distinction though, of being one of the most experienced umpires in the Elite Panel despite being its youngest member of all, making him a ‘success story’ for youths who aspire to become umpires any time soon.

However, a calendar year packed with excessive cricket takes on the mind of the umpire the most rather than a player and Taufel has admitted to suffer from it, so his umpiring future remains uncertain until the 2015 World Cup which is in Australia and New Zealand. Unfortunately, the brilliant Taufel has also been the victim of Australia’s decade-old dominance in one-day cricket which has denied him to host two potential World Cup finals, in 2003 and 2007 and two ICC Champions Trophy finals, in 2006 and 2009. Yet, he did umpire in the ICC Champions Trophy final in 2004 involving West Indies and England as the teams playing. While his dream came true of umpiring in a World Cup final in 2011 in Mumbai when Sri Lanka took on India, the team which knocked Australia out of the tournament in the quarterfinals. His concentration has not deteriorated one bit, although his confidence has increased by the day as he has become advanced in umpiring, learning the tricks of the trade quickly.

It is due to this that he was the youngest umpire to receive the Bronze Bails Award by the ICC for officiating in more than 100 ODIs and also the most experienced umpire in T20 internationals, having officiated in 22 of such matches. The worst moments of his career were the 2009 terrorist attacks in Lahore on the Sri Lankan cricket team where he was one of the on-field umpires. He could have not been here today, but was quick enough to criticize the Pakistani security forces. Whereas on the field, he took two back-to-back wrong decisions in the Nottingham Test between England and India in mid-2007. His accuracy otherwise is spot on and he is still the most sought-after umpires in cricket, with his only aim now being to reach the golden landmark of officiating in 100 Tests, as he is stuck on 66 at the moment. 5) Aleem Dar (Pakistan) The best umpire at the moment in international cricket is none other than Aleem Sarwar Dar. Aleem Dar He was born in Jhang, Punjab on June 6, 1968.

He did have the desire to play for Pakistan some day, as he had a long first-class career in which he represented teams such as Pakistan Railways, Lahore, Gujranwala and Allied Bank Limited for more than a decade. But he was not a big success and by the time he turned 30, he decided to quit playing and instead pursue umpiring in the game. It was incidentally in Gujranwala that he made his ODI debut as an umpire in a match featuring Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 2000, at the ‘tender’ age of 32. Within two years, he was awarded the membership of the Emirates ICC International Panel of Umpires and in another two years, a place in the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires which has some of the best umpires in the game according to its governing body. Dar become the first Pakistani to be a part of it, a massive achievement indeed. His Test debut though was in a match between Bangladesh and England at Dhaka in October 2003. Aleem Dar has stood in matches of intense rivalry which includes the iconic India-Pakistan ODI matches as well as the five Ashes Test matches till date.

He was also seen officiating in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 in Mumbai between Australia and West Indies and also two World Cups, that of 2007 in Barbados and 2011 in Mumbai once again. However, he would not like to bury the ghosts of the 2007 contest because that was the day he was suspended from officiating in the World T20 in South Africa alongside Steve Bucknor for misinterpretation of rules regarding play in bad light. Aleem Dar is the second most experienced umpire in T20 internationals, having officiated in 18 of them and had also umpired in the World T20 final in 2010 between Australia and England at Barbados. His debut was in a match between Pakistan and Australia in Dubai in 2009. His spot on accuracy was given tribute to, in the 2011 World Cup where all the 15 lbw decisions he had taken in the competition were approved by the UDRS system and as a result the decision remained the same and not overturned.

Dar was nominated for the ICC Umpire of the Year Award in 2005 and 2006, but lost out to the Australian Simon Taufel whose reign at the top lasted till 2008. It was Dar who succeeded him by receiving a hat-trick of the award, in the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively. He alongside Taufel are the youngest members of the Elite Panel and the only ones to have been rewarded by the ICC till date. He has officiated in 68 Tests and 146 ODIs, and Dar’s achievements were recognized by the Government of Pakistan as well which decided to hand him the Pride of Performance Award in the year 2010 which only a few distinguished people from different fields get, which can be considered equivalent to the Member of the British Empire title in England. He can hope to carry on for long with age on his side, with the only impediment in his path being the excessive cricket played these days with the Indian Premier League and other T20 competitions across the world being another burden on the head which cannot afford to lose its powers of concentration.

6) Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) Rudolf Eric Koertzen has definitely been one of the veterans when it comes to umpiring on the cricket field, having officiated in 206 ODIs, 108 Test matches and 14 T20 internationals. Rudi Koertzen The South African was born in the town of Knysna, which is one of the closest to the city of Cape Town. He was said to be an ardent cricket fan since childhood, which prompted him to play for South African railways while he worked there as a clerk. However like most of his colleagues mentioned above, he turned to umpiring and qualified to become one in the year 1981. His ODI debut as umpire was in a match between South Africa and India at Port Elizabeth in 1992 while his Test debut was on the same tour and incidentally the same venue, that too at the age of 43. This was the first series in cricket where television replays were used to assist making decisions with regards to run outs or stumpings, therefore having a third umpire acting as a TV umpire for the first time as well.

He was declared as a full time umpire by the ICC in 1997, which was the fruit of his professionalism and his rising fame due to his ‘slow motion’ style raising of the index figure to declare the batsman out, similar to Steve Bucknor but much slower than him too. But his fame was wide-spread, even amongst bookies who wanted to fix some one-day matches in 1999 through him in the form of poor umpiring decisions and in return giving him a huge sum of money. He bravely refused the offer, for which he was highly appreciated. However, parts of the years 1999, 2000 and 2001 were the toughest of his career as the beginning of 2000 saw the Test match between South Africa and England played at Centurion, which is now infamous due to Hansie Cronje fixing the match in favour of England, but still Koertzen was accused due to his involvement as one of the on-field umpires in the match, which gave him the right to explain the players the procedures regarding the forfeiture of an innings.

While in 2001, Sri Lanka played England in a Test match in Kandy in Sri Lanka. England won by 3 wickets but there were several poor umpiring decisions been taken in the game, which were against the home team. The Kandy match made a huge impact as the series was leveled at 1-1 and the final Test was also won by the visitors, handing them a 2-1 series win out of 3 Tests and a rare Indian subcontinent victory for England. But following all those incidents, Koertzen’s umpiring career has moved more or less smoothly. He officiated in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 final in Johannesburg between India and Australia as the third umpire and playing the same role in the 2007 final in Barbados, where unfortunately he was suspended from umpiring in the World T20 2007 due to being in the umpiring team in the game, which had members such as Steve Bucknor, Aleem Dar and Billy Bowden. Besides, he officiated on the field in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy in England in 2004 and in India in 2006.

He has officiated in 108 Test matches, which is the third highest of all time and 206 ODIs, which is a world record, as he took it from David Shepherd. Also he has never been the recipient of the ICC Umpire of the Year Award; he is the first umpire to be awarded the Bronze Bail Award for officiating in 100 ODIs alongside the Silver Bail Award for officiating in 200 ODIs. As well as the Golden Bail Award for officiating in 100 Test matches. Koertzen retired from the game in July 2010 with his last Test being the one between Australia and Pakistan at Headingley while his last ODI was between Zimbabwe and India at Harare a month prior to the Test match. 7) Billy Bowden (New Zealand) Brent Fraser Bowden, popularly known as Billy Bowden, was born in Henderson in the city of Auckland on April 11, 1963. Billy Bowden The 48 year old has gained the maximum popularity in the last decade or so with his antics on the field, which are a rarity to see an umpire doing so.

They include declaring a batsman out with a ‘crooked’ finger rather than normally raising the finger up straight. To signal a four, there is a ‘crumb-sweeping’ wave of the arm while to signal a six, his signal is called the ‘double crooked finger six-phase hop’. As well the fact that to ask the TV umpire to make a decision, he would do an action resembling a square being cut from both his hands rather than just making a normal square with a few fingers. All these attributes attracted the global cola giant, Pepsi for the World Cup 2011 in the Indian subcontinent and Bowden was asked to act in an advertisement advocating his way of using a crooked finger to give the batsman out, which in India it was called the ‘Tedi Ungal’. However, as funny as it may look to the naked eye, there is a valid reason why Billy does this. It is not just for the entertainment of many, but also the fact that he suffered from rheumatoid arthritis in his early 20s which made him quit his playing career and take up umpiring. Due to the disease, it gives him pain to declare a batsman out in conventional fashion.

It was in March 1995 that Billy umpired in an international fixture, a one-day international between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at Hamilton. But it was only after exactly five years that he got the opportunity of officiating as an on-field umpire in a Test match. That was between New Zealand and Australia at Auckland. In T20 cricket, he was one of the first umpires to have officiated in this format as his debut was the first ever T20 international which was incidentally between New Zealand and Australia at Auckland in February 2005. In 2002, he was promoted in the Emirates Panel of International Umpires which was followed by umpiring in some of the matches in the World Cup 2003 in South Africa and being the fourth umpire in the final at Johannesburg. With continuously good performances, he was finally given membership in the Elite Panel of Umpires and since then, there has been no looking back for him.

In the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, he officiated in several group and Super 8 games, but was again the fourth umpire in the final at Barbados, where he too was suspended from umpiring in the ICC World T20 in South Africa a few months later. He has been involved in some horribly wrong and consequently match changing decisions in Tests. For instance, the wicket of Virender Sehwag off the bowling of Glenn McGrath in the second innings of the 2004 Bangalore Test match where Sehwag was given out despite there being a huge inside edge onto the pads. While a year later, and Bowden was the man to declare the Australian No.11 Michael Kasprowicz out off the bowling of England’s Steve Harmison when it was not sure whether the ball hit his glove to loop in the air. It was the last wicket of the match and England won the Birmingham Test by 2 runs to square the Ashes 1-1, and go on to win the series 2-1. Yet, Bowden is one of the most reliable umpires in the game at the moment if not the greatest.

He is also the proud recipient of the ICC Bronze Bails Award for officiating in 100 ODIs. He has also officiated in 70 Test matches and 19 T-20 internationals. 8) Daryl Harper (Australia) Daryl John Harper was born on October 23, 1951 in a suburb called Mile End in Adelaide in South Australia. Daryl Harper He initially was a primary school teacher by profession before trying his hand in the Australian Rules Football Competition as an umpire, until he had to retire from the game due to injury. But when it comes to cricket, he has had some playing experience, having turned out for the Teachers’ College and East Torrens Clubs respectively in Adelaide grade cricket. However, that did not last for long as well as he decided to switch to umpiring in 1983, and made his first-class umpiring debut in 1987, as a 36-year old. It was seven years later that Harper would go on to feature in an international cricket match, which was a one-day international at the WACA, Perth between South Africa and New Zealand.

While it was in November 1998 that he made his first appearance as umpire in Tests, perfectly at the WACA as well, in the Ashes Test match. He also featured in the Boxing Day Test as one of the on field umpires. His rise was as high as his fall. In 2002, he was considered to be much better an umpire than his Australian counterparts, Simon Taufel and Darrell Hair. So much so that he was the first from his country to be elevated to the Elite Panel of Umpires by the ICC, and selected to officiate in the curtain raiser of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, between the hosts and the West Indies team. He also featured in the semifinal between India and Kenya. His 100th one-day international as an umpire was the match between Zimbabwe and New Zealand at Harare in 2005 in a triseries which also involved India. But his fall began in 2009 when he made several errors after being selected for a trial of using of what is now called the UDRS system.

In 2010, on England’s tour of South Africa, it was in one of the Test matches that Harper could not detect a ball clearly kissing the outside edge of the bat and when referred, his decision was upheld which was actually a wrong one. For this matter, the England team management filed a formal complaint against Harper and many cricketing pundits demanded his ouster from the game as an umpire. Come India’s tour of West Indies in 2011 and Harper did a Bucknor by creating a furore in the Indian ranks due to three poor decisions in the first Test match. India decided to use the muscles it has in terms of its financial clout in the ICC to suspend the contract of Harper and effectively oust him from the Elite Panel of Umpires. Following the next Test, he retired from officiating in all formats of the game. However, he was definitely one of the senior most umpires in his era having officiated in 94 Test matches, 174 one-day internationals and 10 T-20 internationals.

Dickie Bird – The man behind the famous finger | News | MN2S Talent Dickie Bird – The man behind the famous finger talent 26 November 2015 Harold Dennis “Dickie” Bird, OBE is a currently retired English international cricket umpire. Bird played for both Yorkshire and Leicestershire in his time, making his first class debut in 1956. It wasn’t until 1970 that Bird officiated his first county game and by the end of his umpire career had overseen 66 test matches, 69 ODI’s and 3 World Cup Finals. As of April 2013, Bird has officially officiated the most test matches in a single nation. Dickie Bird , OBE is a retired English international cricket umpire. Bird was originally pursuing a career in football, until a nasty knee injury interfered with his plans. However, cricket was his second love and he soon signed up to play for his home team, Yorkshire County Cricket Club. He debuted in first class cricket for the team in 1956 and was their batsman until 1964.

Following his time in county cricket , Bird undertook some roles in coaching, as well as playing league cricket, before making the transition to umpire. His first game as umpire was in 1970 and he officiated his first Test Match three years later. Bird soon earned a reputation for stopping play due to weather conditions, sometimes a controversial choice. Bird was consistently very popular with the crowd, but perhaps even more so with the players. He also gained a reputation for managing to earn the respect of some of the more volatile and difficult players around. At his final Test match in 1996, he walked into the green to a standing ovation and the sight of the Indian and England cricket teams forming a “guard of honour”. At the end of his career, Bird had officiated a total of 66 Test matches (which was at that time, a world record) and 69 One Day Internationals. Bird made a brief appearance post retirement in 2007 to umpire the XXXX Gold Beach Cricket Tri-Nations competitions, bringing together players from the West Indies, England and Australia.

While in retirement, Bird has written an autobiography My Autobiography which he then followed up with White Cap And Bails- Adventures of a Much Travelled Umpire and 80 Not Out . His life was the subject of the British biographical television documentary This Is Your Life in 1992. He has also been involved with charitable causes, setting up the ‘Dickie Bird Foundation’ , an initiative to enable disadvantaged youths to pursue their sporting passions. Bird is also a patron of the Barnsley Multiple Sclerosis Society. His contribution to philanthropy, in addition to his extensive contributions to cricket, was recognised when his 1986 MBE was made an OBE in 2012. Bird has also been formally celebrated by several university institutions, receiving honorary doctorates from The University of Leeds and The University of Huddersfield among others. Bird’s commemorations continue in other forms and a six foot statue of the cricket legend , capturing his signature raised finger, was unveiled in Barnsley on the 30th June 2009. Most recently, Bird was appointed club president of Yorkshire County Cricket Club at their Annual General Meeting.

In response to this promotion he stated that “Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would become the president of the greatest cricket club in the world”. Dickie Bird is available for both private and corporate events and to enquire, please contact celebrity booking agency MN2S. SHARE ARTICLE: Industry newsletter Enter your details to get early access to new signings and tour dates, the latest news from our independent labels, and insight into the people, tech and companies that are changing the industry. Dickie Bird Dickie Bird (1933-) Harold Dennis Bird, MBE, the retired cricket umpire universally known as "Dickie" Bird, was born in Barnsley on April 19th 1933. In his early career in Barnsley, he played club cricket in the same team as Geoff Boycott , and Michael Parkinson , who became a lifelong friend. In 1956, he signed up with his home county, Yorkshire. Between 1956 and 1964, Bird played first class cricket as a batsman for Yorkshire and Leicestershire in the English County Championship. After his County career, he coached and played league cricket before becoming an umpire.

Between 1973 and 1996, Bird umpired in 66 Test matches (at the time a world record) and 69 one day internationals including 3 World Cup Finals. He gained a reputation for stopping play for weather and not giving batsmen out LBW. He received an MBE in 1986 and has also received honorary doctorates from Leeds and Sheffield Hallam Universities. Bird has been given the Freedom of Barnsley. In retirement he has taken on a new role as a media personality, with appearances on quiz and chat shows and numerous speaking engagements. He has produced several books, including two volumes of autobiography: My Autobiography - the biggest selling sports book of all time - and the follow-up White Cap and Bails, another best-seller.

Dickie Bird - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia I am Smart, Intelligent and Hard Working who Loves to help :) Dickie Bird Full name Harold Dennis Bird OBE Batting style Right-hand batsman TV shows The Young Ones Born 19 April 1933 (age 82) (1933-04-19) Staincross, South Yorkshire, England Books White Cap and Bails, That's Out!, Dickie Bird Autobiography, The Little Book of Dickie Bird, Not Out Similar People Geoffrey Boycott, David Shepherd, Fred Trueman, Brian Close, Steve Bucknor Will dickie bird help yorkshire espncricinfo cricket brain 2014 Sponsored Links Harold Dennis "Dickie" Bird, OBE (born 19 April 1933, Barnsley, Yorkshire, England), is a retired English international cricket umpire. In February 2014, Yorkshire announced that Bird is to be voted in as the club's president at their Annual General Meeting on 29 March. Dickie bird unveils statue in barnsley Early life The son of a miner, he gained the nickname 'Dickie' at school.

He lives in the South Yorkshire village of Staincross. In 1944 Bird failed his eleven plus exam and went to Raley Secondary Modern, leaving in 1948 at the age of 15. For a while, he worked at a coal mine on the surface, but gave it up, deciding it was not for him. Instead, he set out for a career in sport. Playing career When a knee injury put paid to playing football professionally, he followed his second love, cricket. In his early career in Barnsley, he played club cricket in the same team as Geoff Boycott, and journalist and chat show host Michael Parkinson, who became a lifelong friend. In 1956, Bird signed up with his home county, Yorkshire. Boycott has spoken highly of Bird's ability as a batsman, but feels that his attempt to forge a career as a county cricketer were hampered by his inability to control his nerves. Between 1956 and 1964, Bird played first-class cricket as a batsman for Yorkshire and Leicestershire in the English County Championship. After his county career, he coached and played league cricket before becoming an umpire.

Umpiring career He stood in his first county game in 1970. Three years later, he officiated at his first Test match, England v New Zealand at Headingley Stadium in Leeds. The other umpire was Charlie Eliott as England won by an innings and one run. He gained a reputation for stopping play for weather and not giving batsmen out LBW. Bird's attention to detail was placed under scrutiny at the Centenary Test between England and Australia at Lord's in 1980. Although the Saturday of this particular match had mostly pleasant sunshine, Bird and his fellow umpire, David Constant, refused to let play start because of the previous night's rain; parts of the outfield were still too waterlogged, according to the officials. Angry MCC members scuffled with Constant as he and the team captains returned to the Long Room after their fifth pitch inspection. The two captains, Ian Botham and Greg Chappell, had to intervene to protect Constant. Bird, however, was still on the pitch at the time according to his own recounting of the event in his book. When play finally started at 3:45 pm, police had to escort the umpires through the Long Room and on to the field.

Sponsored Links A pitch invasion followed the West Indies' 17-run win in the inaugural Cricket World Cup. A number of players and umpires had items of their playing outfits "souvenired" by the crowd. A year later, Bird was a passenger on a bus in South London, when he noticed the conductor was wearing a white hat very similar to the one he favoured, and asked the conductor where he obtained it from. "Man, haven't you heard of Mr Dickie Bird," he replied. "This is one of his hats. I took it off his head at the World Cup final... we all ran onto the field and I won the race." One of Bird's strengths was that he was able to manage and earn the respect of some of the more volatile players in the game, sometimes by using his infectious humour. He was also known as being eccentric, famously arriving at a ground five hours early as the Queen was to visit that day. At the beginning of his 66th and final Test in 1996, the two teams – India and England – formed a "guard of honour" as he came out, and he received a standing ovation from the crowd. Bird, an emotional man, was in tears.

Two years later, in 1998, he stood in his last county match. Bird umpired in 66 Test matches (at the time a world record) and 69 One Day Internationals including 3 World Cup Finals. He came out of retirement in January 2007 to umpire in the XXXX Gold Beach Cricket Tri-Nations series involving cricketing legends from England, the West Indies, and Australia, which partly took place at Scarborough Beach in Perth, Australia. Post retirement Bird went on to write his autobiography simply titled My Autobiography (with a foreword by Michael Parkinson), which sold more than a million copies. A sequel titled White Cap And Bails – Adventures of a Much Travelled Umpire was published in 1999 by Hodder and Stoughton. Bird set up the Dickie Bird Foundation to help disadvantaged under 18s achieve their potential in sport. He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1992 when he was surprised by Michael Aspel at Yorkshire Television. Bird appeared in one episode of Trigger Happy TV.

In 2010 he took part in BBC's The Young Ones, in which six celebrities in their seventies and eighties, attempted to overcome some of the problems of ageing, by harking back to the 1970s. Bird was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1986 and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to cricket and charity. Bird has also received honorary doctorates from Huddersfield, Leeds and Sheffield Hallam Universities. Bird has been given the Freedom of Barnsley. Bird is also a Patron of the Barnsley Multiple Sclerosis Society. A six-foot statue of Bird has been erected in Barnsley in his honour near the place of his birth and was unveiled on 30 June 2009. It has subsequently been raised by putting it on a five-foot-high plinth in order to discourage late night revellers hanging inappropriate items on the famous finger.

On his pending appointment as President of Yorkshire CC in 2014, Bird stated "Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would become the president of the greatest cricket club in the world". In August 2014, Bird was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. Umpiring records As of April 2013, Bird has officiated the most test matches in a single nation - 54 in England. Dickie Bird: 'Umpiring is done by machines these days' | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo Cricketers reflect on their lives and times Dickie Bird April 30, 2014 'Umpiring is done by machines these days' Back in Dickie Bird's day the officials got respect and gave it. One of cricket's iconic umpires looks back 37 Dickie Bird collects his OBE at Buckingham Palace in 2012 © Getty Images My first job was working down a coal mine. That's what I was doing before I got into cricket.

I worked as a fitter from the age of 15 to 19. If I had to describe myself as an umpire, I'd like to say I was honest and fair. I treated everybody on the field as human beings and as professional cricketers. If I had the respect of the players, then marvellous. My final Test, with the guard of honour from the England and India players, was marvellous. I didn't know what was happening but I had an idea that something was going off. I walked through the Long Room at Lord's and everyone was off their high seats, clapping. Both teams were lined in a channel for me to walk through. I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. People who saw Don Bradman's last appearance in cricket at The Oval said he got a tremendous reception, but they tell me mine were better. It's a day I shall always remember. If I could turn the clock back, I would have stayed at Yorkshire as a player. I couldn't see myself nailing a place in the Yorkshire team. I was in and out of the side. That's why I left but I wish I hadn't. It's my biggest regret.

We had to look down for the no-ball, we had to look at any edges, where it pitched - we had all those decisions to make. Now I think all the authority has been taken away from the umpire. It's like umpiring is now done by a machine. It's made by electronic aids. It's very, very sad that umpiring as we knew it is finished. If you asked me who are the best umpires in the world right now, I couldn't tell you because umpiring is done by a machine. I don't mind the guys that don't walk. There's nothing in the laws saying that a batsman has to walk. He can stand his ground and wait for the umpire's decision but he must walk off when he's given out. And that's the key. He mustn't show any dissent. It's the umpire's decision, and whether it's right or wrong, he mustn't show dissent. If Yorkshire could put their best team out on the field for every game, we would win the County Championship ever year. We are the envy of every county side in the country, with so many magnificent young players. It's just like a conveyor belt of young players who are so talented.

They just keep producing these lads who go on to play for England. It excites me tremendously, seeing all that talent. There's a lad, Matthew Fisher, he will play for England, that boy. If he's sensible - and I think he is - and everything goes his way, he will be an excellent player. Jason Gillespie, Martyn Moxon and Ian Dews have done a tremendous job. "The conductor said, 'Fares, please.' He had a white cap on and I thought it looked like one of mine. I said: 'Excuse me, sir, where did you get that?' He replied: 'Haven't you heard of Mr Dickie Bird? It's his hat'" Whatever you say about the technology, it's here to stay. Everyone seems to want electronic aids, so we have to have them. The World Cup final in 1975 between West Indies and Australia was the best game of cricket I've ever umpired - but I had to be wary of the West Indies fans. I had to have a box of white caps made for me every time I umpired them, because they used to run on and nick them.

At the end of the World Cup final, someone whipped my white cap off and I saw him run through the thousands of spectators who used to go on the field. My first love was football. Cricket was very much second. I played football and cricket when I was at school, both for Barnsley. When I left school, at 15, I signed for Barnsley at football. I was an inside-right. I was there until I was 16 or 17 before I decided to stick to cricket. I don't think you could play two games. It's hard work. Cricket gave me a longer career. The best cricketer I ever saw was Garfield Sobers . He was a truly great player. He was three cricketers rolled into one. A great entertainer, and on top of that, he was a gentleman. One day I caught a London bus because my car was off the road. The conductor came on and said, "Fares, please." I looked at him and he had a white cap on and I thought it looked like one of mine.

I said: "Excuse me, sir, where did you get that?" He turned round and replied: "Haven't you heard of Mr Dickie Bird? It's his hat. I ran on the pitch and got it and I am so proud of it." I thought it was great. I never let on that it was me. In the modern-day game, I loved watching Jacques Kallis. He was a fine player. Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara were incredible to watch. But those three are now finished. They would be three outstanding players in any era and now they are gone. It's sad. Geoffrey Boycott is a good friend of mine but I don't think he was right when he said I suffered from nerves when I played. I think I worried a lot, and that's what he's probably thinking about, Geoff. I got low scores and I used to worry. I had to have a word with Merv Hughes once. He was bowling to Graeme Hick and he kept playing and missing. Merv's language was getting worse and worse and I had had enough. I turned to him and told him: "I want you to be a good boy.

Don't swear anymore." He looked at me and said: "Dickie Bird, you're a legend. I won't swear again." He came in next ball and Hick played and missed again. Never swear again? I've never heard language like it after that! I'm about to become president of Yorkshire - and what a tremendous honour that is. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be president when I walked through those gates as a 16-year-old for the first time. It's one of the greatest honours of my life. I was walking off the field in a Test match at Old Trafford once. There was a Lancashire supporter right at the top of the members' enclosure. He'd had so much to drink he couldn't stand. He shouted at me, "Bird, it's the best day of the year, it's blue sky, red hot, the sun's shining, you can't take them off. What is your problem?" I said: "I have no problem - but it's lunch!" I didn't have any superstitions. I had faith in the Lord. That was good enough for me. One man I cannot wait to see develop is Will Rhodes.

I watched him play for England Under-19 over the winter and he looked a real prospect. Yorkshire County Cricket Club is the greatest club in the world. The funniest thing I've seen on a cricket field was when the drains burst at Headingley. There was torrential rain before the Test match and they were all saying the match would be delayed. The ground staff worked through the night to get the pitch fit because it was like a lake. Somehow we started on time and England won the toss and batted. Curtly Ambrose went to bowl the fifth ball of the day and stopped and said: "We've got a big problem here, Mr Dickie. You better come and look, man." Halfway through his run-up there was spray, like a fountain, the water coming up above his boots and mine. We trooped off and the crowd were shouting: "Same again, Bird, what is your problem?" I told them: "We've got a big one, we need some plumbers!" I did 25 years as a Test umpire.

If you worked it out, with all the Test matches played today and ODIs, I think if I'd have done 25 years now I'd end up standing in 500 international matches. With Prince Charles by the statue of Bird in Barnsley © AFP There were so many great players in my day, it's hard to pick a favourite that I umpired. Barry Richards, Sunil Gavaskar, Viv Richards, Graeme Pollock, Garfield Sobers, Alan Knott, Shane Warne, Lance Gibbs and Abdul Qadir were all enjoyable to watch. Then there are the quicks: Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Waqar Younis and so on. The left-armer, Wasim Akram, was tremendous as was Sachin Tendulkar. I like talking to people everywhere I go. In my era as an umpire, players used to have a joke with you and I used to have a joke with them off it. The game was always played in tremendous spirit. Everyone accepted decisions. That was an era that I really do think was the best time in cricket.

When the legends from Pakistan, India, West Indies and Sri Lanka retired, they used to invite me to their homes if I was on holiday. Dennis Lillee, the greatest fast bowler I've ever seen, used to invite me to come round and have a meal with him and his family. How great a thing to do was that? I doubt it happens nowadays. I go to all the county matches. I will go to every home match and as many away matches as I can as president of Yorkshire. I'm an honorary life member of the MCC and I'm very proud of that too. I am also an honorary life member at Leicestershire. It's so nice to see so many people who I think might have forgotten me but they still remember and have a chat. It's just amazing. I enjoy watching Kevin Pietersen. What a fine player. I don't know what's behind England's decision to get rid of him. It's got to be in the dressing room somewhere, but I just love watching him. In my spare time I go down to watch Barnsley a lot. I'm a season-ticket holder at Oakwell for my sins. It is a bit frustrating, though.

I would like to see more Barnsley youths playing, the local lads who have got Barnsley at heart. There's not one boy in the squad that is a Barnsley-born player. We have got one of best academies in the country so why can't we use some of them? © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Question: Umpire Dickie Bird played first class cricket for Yorkshire and which other county
Answer: Leicestershire