Former cricket umpire Dickie Bird dies aged 92

Harold “Dickie” Bird, 1 of cricket’s astir celebrated and much-loved erstwhile umpires , has died astatine the property of 92, England’s Yorkshire County Cricket Club (CCC) has announced.

Bird “died peacefully astatine home”, Yorkshire CCC wrote successful a station announcing Bird’s decease connected Tuesday.

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He began his umpiring vocation successful 1973 and officiated successful 66 Test matches, 69 men’s one-day internationals and 3 World Cup finals earlier retiring successful 1996.

He was fixed a defender of honour astatine Lord’s Cricket Ground by England and India players earlier his last Test.

Bird’s eccentric and humorous quality endeared him to cricket fans astir the satellite and crossed generations.

Yorkshire called Bird a “national treasure” who was “known not lone for his umpiring excellence but besides for his eccentricities and warmth”.

“Dickie Bird enjoyed an illustrious vocation arsenic an planetary umpire, penning his sanction into past arsenic the astir celebrated and fashionable authoritative successful the game’s history,” the nine said.

“He leaves down a bequest of sportsmanship, humility, and joyousness – and a legion of admirers crossed generations.”

Bird, who sold much than a cardinal copies of his autobiography, was named Yorkshire president successful 2014.

Bird’s first-class playing career, which included spells with his beloved Yorkshire and Leicestershire, was chopped abbreviated by wounded astatine the property of 32 with an mean of 20.71.

He went connected to go arguably the world’s astir celebrated umpire, lasting successful an English region lucifer for the archetypal clip successful 1970.

In 1975, Bird took complaint of the inaugural men’s Cricket World Cup final.

“Dickie enjoyed an illustrious vocation arsenic an umpire,” the Lord’s-based Marylebone Cricket Club said, “and was 1 of the astir fashionable officials successful the past of the game.”

An umpire agelong earlier the instauration of exertion to cricket, Bird was renowned for being cautious with his decisions and making fewer wide mistakes, telling the BBC that his parents ” instilled this intelligence spot to judge successful myself”.

In his pomp and successful his aboriginal years, helium was arsenic fashionable arsenic the players helium officiated, ne'er refusing to motion an autograph and often was seen waiting patiently to bash truthful adjacent erstwhile lines were long. His autobiography was Britain’s biggest-selling sports book.

It was his idiosyncrasies that made him truthful loved – the mode helium raised his digit to springiness a batter out, his warmth and conversational attack with players, his grin, his stooping gait, however helium twitched his arms and tugged astatine his umpire’s jacket.

Bird listed Garfield Sobers, Sunil Gavaskar, Viv Richards and Dennis Lillee arsenic the champion players helium ever umpired. His 1 regret successful life, Bird told The Guardian paper successful 2013, was not having a family.

“I gave my beingness to cricket. It’s arsenic elemental arsenic that,” helium said. “I ne'er got joined due to the fact that I was joined to the game.”

MCC is profoundly saddened to perceive of the decease of Harold "Dickie" Bird. An Honorary Life Member of the Club, Dickie enjoyed an illustrious vocation arsenic an umpire and was 1 of the astir fashionable officials successful the past of the game.
 
He officiated successful 66 men’s Test matches and we were… pic.twitter.com/r22NSrKCAZ

— Lord's Cricket Ground (@HomeOfCricket) September 23, 2025