Harold "Dickie" Bird

Infobox cricketer biography
playername = Dickie Bird


country = England
fullname = Harold Dennis Bird MBE
nickname = Dickie
living = true
dayofbirth = 19
monthofbirth = 4
yearofbirth = 1933
placeofbirth = Barnsley
countryofbirth = England
heightft = 5
heightinch = 10
heightm =
batting = Right-hand
bowling = Right-arm off-break
role = Batsman, Umpire
club1 = Leicestershire
year1 = 1956–1959
club2 = Yorkshire
year2 = 1959–1964
type1 = First-class
debutdate1 = 16 May
debutyear1 = 1956
debutfor1 = Yorkshire
debutagainst1 = Scotland
lastdate1 = 12 August
lastyear1 = 1964
lastfor1 = Leicestershire
lastagainst1 = Essex
type2 = List A
debutdate2 = 1 May
debutyear2 = 1963
debutfor2 = Leicestershire
debutagainst2 = Lancashire
lastdate2 = 27 May
lastyear2 = 1964
lastfor2 = Leicestershire
lastagainst2 = Northamptonshire
umpire = true
testsumpired = 66
umptestdubutyr = 1973
umptestlastyr = 1996
odisumpired = 69
umpodidebutyr = 1973
umpodilastyr = 1995
deliveries = balls
columns = 2
column1 = FC
matches1 = 93
runs1 = 3314
bat avg1 = 20.71
100s/50s1 = 2/14
top score1 = 181*
deliveries1 = 48
wickets1 = 0
bowl avg1 = –
fivefor1 = 0
tenfor1 = 0
best bowling1 = –
catches/stumpings1 = 28/–
column2 = LA
matches2 = 2
runs2 = 9
bat avg2 = 4.50
100s/50s2 = 0/0
top score2 = 7
deliveries2 = 0
wickets2 = –
bowl avg2 = –
fivefor2 = –
tenfor2 = n/a
best bowling2 = –
catches/stumpings2 = 0/–
date = 19 August
year = 2007
source = http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/3/3312/3312.html cricketarchive.com

Harold Dennis Bird, MBE, commonly known as "Dickie" Bird (born in Barnsley, Yorkshire on April 19, 1933) is a retired international cricket umpire. The son of a miner, he gained the nickname 'Dickie' at school. He resides in the South Yorkshire village of Staincross.

Playing days

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, 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.

Little known is the fact that he inaugurated the Sloggers League at Reading University, which is still in existence today.

Umpiring days

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, Leeds). He gained a reputation for stopping play for weather and not giving batsmen out LBW.

Bird's attention to detail turned nasty at the centenary Test at Lord's in 1980, between England and Australia. 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. [ [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/153578.html Wisden match report] ] Thankfully, Bird was never really involved in anything more of this nature for the rest of his Test umpiring career.

One of his 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 sixty-sixth 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 which involved cricketing legends from England, West Indies and Australia which took place at Scarborough Beach in Perth, Australia.

Celebrity days

Bird went on to write his autobiography simply titled "My Autobiography" (with a foreword by Michael Parkinson), which Bird claims has sold over a million copies. [ [http://sport.guardian.co.uk/smalltalk/story/0,,1154977,00.html Guardian interview with Bird] ] Bird set up the Dickie Bird Foundation to help disadvantaged under 18s achieve their potential in sport.

He received an MBE from the Queen in 1986 and has also received honorary doctorates from Leeds and Sheffield Hallam Universities. Bird has been given the Freedom of Barnsley.

A six foot statue of Dickie is to be erected in Barnsley in his honour near the place of his birth.

ee also

*Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Notes

External links

* [http://www.thedickiebirdfoundation.org The Dickie Bird Foundation]
* [http://content.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/9098.html Dickie Bird at Cricinfo]