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Home › Teams › › Players › Dickie Bird

Dickie Bird

Full Name
Harold Dennis Bird
Born
19-04-1933 Barnsley, Yorkshire, England
Current Age
89 years old
Batting Style
Right-hand bat
Bowling Style
Off-break
Dickie Bird

Photos: Dickie Bird

  • 1975 World Cup final: The Bird view

    1975 World Cup final: The Bird view

Videos: Dickie Bird

  • Dickie Bird praises Ashton Agar

    Dickie Bird praises Ashton Agar

  • Interview of former umpire Dickie Bird

    Interview of former umpire Dickie Bird

Dickie Bird Biography

Nobody addressed Harold Dennis Bird by his first name. In fact, very few knew what it was. 
 
There have been greater umpires, but few as popular as Dickie Bird. While he had his numerous idiosyncrasies, there was no doubt that he was one of the most accurate umpires of the era. He seldom erred, was respected by opposition cricketers in an era predating neutral umpires, and was almost never reduced to helplessness. 
 
More importantly, Bird made umpiring glamorous the way no one had done before him. Till then umpires — even legends like Frank Chester — were mere custodians of the sport of varying qualities. Bird’s popularity was no less than the cricketers; at times he even outdid the cricketers.
 
That white cap made him instantly recognisable, as were his characteristic stretching exercises during matches. He was notorious for stopping play, and the reasons included streakers, airplanes flying above the ground, and even too much sunlight. They barracked, but when Bird decided to come off, nobody dared to stop him — for deep down they all respected him.
 
Bird stood in 66 Tests. Till the turn of the millennium — when neutral umpires came into vogue — nobody else had officiated in more than 54 Tests. 
 
Bird also officiated in 54 ODIs including the first four World Cup finals. Before the fourth final in Calcutta, Allan Border insisted Bird was an umpire despite England being the opposition side. Yes, Bird was good enough for Border to opt for Bird ahead of a neutral umpire. It was hardly surprising, for there had been instances where touring sides demanded Bird’s presence in the Tests.
 
There were stories aplenty, some true, some unverified. His famous cap was snatched amidst the commotion of the 1975 World Cup final by a West Indian fan. He later saw a bus commentator donning it; the commentator proudly admitted that he had taken it from Bird’s head.
 
When a spectator once barracked Bird for signalling a wide, Bird immediately took his coat off and offered it to the man in the crowd.
 
His no-ball, a cross between a shriek and a yell, once influenced a batsman from a neighbouring match to play a false stroke.
 
He handled the fiery West Indian fast bowlers with ridiculous ease. They even cut down on their bouncers at his insistence, as did Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. He dealt with a potential fight between Sarfraz Nawaz and Tony Greig — both volatile characters — making sure there was no unpleasant scene.
 
There were embarrassing moments too. On one occasion he miscounted overs, and allowed Abdul Qadir to bowl an 11th over in a 50-over match. The match had to be stopped and the two balls annulled. On another occasion in Sharjah, a dehydrated Bird had to be carried away by West Indian fielders. 
 
He was stumped — pun not intended — when a woman ran on to the ground only in her panties and slid the bails inside. A policewoman had to intervene. There was another instance where a woman demanded to be kissed by Bird. 
 
Bird remains single. “I’m married to cricket” continues to remain his usual response whenever the topic is raised.
 
He turned down offers to officiate in South Africa as well as in Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket.
 
And before all this happened, he was good enough to play 93 First-Class matches, mostly for Yorkshire and Leicestershire, though his 3,314 runs came at a mere 21.
 
They named a racehorse after him. His autobiography became a bestseller. He was a renowned after-dinner speaker. He was presented with an MBE.
 
Abhishek Mukherjee
 

Dickie Bird Batting & Fielding Averages

Career M In R NO HS Avg BF SR 100s 50s 4s 6s Ct St
Test 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
ODIs 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
T20s 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
World Cup 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Dickie Bird Bowling Averages

Career M B R W Avg EC SR 5WI 10WM BBI BBM
Test 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
ODIs 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
T20s 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
World Cup 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

News ON Dickie Bird

Yorkshire awarded County Championship Trophy by Prince Philip

Yorkshire won the County Championship.

Sachin Tendulkar given Yorkshire’s honorary life membership

Sachin Tendulkar played for the County side in 1992.

Yorkshire great Phil Sharpe passes away at the age of 77

Phil Sharpe played 12 Tests for England.

Mike Gatting happy to be victim of Shane Warne’s ‘ball of the century’

Mike Gatting said he was "happy", 20 years on, to have been bowled by the "ball of the century" that kick-started Australia ...

Sunil Gavaskar pleased with inclusion in Dickie Bird’s all-time Test XI

Former Indian cricket captain Sunil Gavaskar is happy to be a part of Dickie Bird's all-time Test XI even as some former cricketers ...

Sachin Tendulkar, Don Bradman’s omission from Dickie Bird’s Test XI shocks former cricketers

Indian Cricketing fraternity were shock at the omission of legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Don Bradman in the all-time Test eleven ...

More News on Dickie Bird

Features ON Dickie Bird

    England vs West Indies 1995: Sunlight stops play

    Dickie Bird probably created history by calling off play due to excessive sunlight.

    Dickie Bird or Arthur Jepson: Whose tall tale was the Wally Hammond-Charlie Barnett story?

    Dickie Bird and Arthur Jepson were both known for their anecdotes, many of which are known to be exaggerated.

    Dickie Bird and the mobile phone story: A tall tale?

    As has often been the case, Dickie Bird's story does not match up to the facts.

    Dickie Bird: The superstar among umpires

    Dickie Bird was an institution within cricket, universally loved and respected, and instantly recognisable.

    Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird officiates for the last time in a Test match

    The final match of a man whose colourful idiosyncrasies made him one of the most recognisable faces.

    Stephen King and cricket: Adulation of Giants

    Nottinghamshire vs Surrey was abandoned without a ball bowled, but...

    More Features on Dickie Bird


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