Dickie Bird, an umpire of the players and the people

In the final of the inaugural cricket World Cup, after Jeff Thompson was run out following a last-wicket stand with Dennis Lillee that took Australia to within 17 runs of the target set by the West Indies, a crowd invaded the pitch. Dickie Bird, who was officiating, lost his hat. “I was on a London bus some years after,” Bird told the Test Match Special podcast in June, and “saw a bus conductor with a white cap that looked like one of mine”. “ Haven’t you heard of Mr Dickie Bird,” the conductor asked, and said he had “pinched it off after the 1975 World Cup final”. Bird, who died on Tuesday, was a rare umpire who was as popular as the players — his stoop, the nervous tug at his jacket, or the way he would raise his finger to give a player out are all part of cricketing folklore.

Bird was also hugely respected by the players, including bowlers, even though he was amongst the most steadfast of no-outers. Money had made its way into cricket around the middle of his career. However, the game held onto its amateur roots in the way players would relate to an official of unimpeachable integrity. Several of Bird’s decisions would have been brilliant by the standards of the modern DRS system. His standing among players also had to do with Bird’s nature. It wasn’t infrequent for Bird to respond to a loud appeal with a disarming shake of his head and then have a long chat with the bowler — the exchange would usually end with the umpire and the player exchanging smiles.

When Bird ended his international career, he had officiated in 66 test matches, a record. He was given a guard of honour by the English and Indian players. Almost moved to tears, the umpire gave a marginal LBW against Mike Atherton. Nobody really questioned the decision, even though it went against Bird’s no-outer credo.