Dickie Bird: Fairness of his decisions made him players' favourite

In all sports disciplines, umpires or referees ensure that contests are held as per the laws and rules of the game, while upholding the traditions of the respective sport, and adhering to the tenets of sportsman spirit. These gentlemen and women are expected to be invisible, facilitating the natural flow of events and stepping in only when necessary. With all attention focused on the action in the middle involving the players, umpires seldom become the centre of attraction unless a serious dispute arises, warranting their intervention.

Dickie Bird, who passed away last week aged 92, was the first umpire to be elevated to the status of an icon. It might have helped that he umpired Test matches and One-Day Internationals (ODIs) around the time live coverage of matches became popular and widespread. But there was no doubting that his charisma and appeal gave him millions of fans all over the cricket-playing world.

The tributes after his death, close to three decades since he stood in his last Test, stand as evidence for the tremendous popularity he enjoyed among the followers of the game, despite the game undergoing a huge “cultural change” due to the advent of T20 cricket and associated professional cricket leagues coming into existence after he bid adieu to umpiring.

Like most of the top umpires from England, Bird decided to don the white coat after playing the game at the first-class level. He played 90 matches for Yorkshire and scored 3,314 runs at an average of 20.71. These figures tell the story of a journeyman cricketer, who, despite two centuries with a career high of 181 not out, was not in the same league as the top batsmen of his time. Geoff Boycott, one of the most famous products from Yorkshire, was one of his more famous contemporaries. His first-class career ended in 1964, at the age of 31, after which he turned to umpiring.

He stood in his first Test in 1973, when England took on New Zealand at Leeds and went on to officiate 66 Tests and 69 ODIs before retiring from umpiring in first-class matches in 1998, aged 65. The last Test he stood as an umpire was the one between India and England at Lord’s in 1996.

Most people will remember Bird as an archetypal Englishman, enjoying his summer by standing in the sun on a cricket ground overseeing the happenings there. But Bird was much more than that; he brought visibility to umpiring with his odd yet amusing quirks and mannerisms, which were lapped up by the crowds everywhere.

He was always quick to latch onto any incident that kept him in the limelight. This was first witnessed during the Test between England and West Indies at Lord’s in 1973, when a bomb scare interrupted play. As the stands were emptied, West Indian supporters converged on the ground. Covers were placed over the pitch to protect it from the surging crowds. Rather than proceeding to the security of the dressing room, Bird chose to sit on the covers along with the West Indians and waited until the police completed their inspection and declared it safe for play to continue. The picture of Bird sitting on the covers with West Indians all around him became a big story and propelled him to stardom. And Bird did not look back after that.

While antics and angularities may help garner attention of the visual and even the print media, an umpire wins the respect of players only by the quality of his decision-making on the field. Players respect only those umpires who are good in their job and remain fair, neutral and consistent in their work. And Bird was undoubtedly a great umpire as he combined all these qualities in a very high measure. He was a picture of concentration, never missing even the thinnest of edges and was absolutely neutral and fair.

Though he was a self-professed “not outer”, when it came to deciding on appeals for “leg before wicket (LBW)”, players grew to respect him solely on account of his consistency in this regard. Many observers have pointed out that there would have been many reversals of his LBW decisions had Bird officiated matches when the Decision Review System (DRS) was in operation. Bowlers might have felt that his approach towards LBW appeals was too conservative and even harsh, but they nevertheless respected him as he never wavered from his stand.

It must be remembered that Bird did most of his umpiring during an era when Test matches dominated the scene and the popularity of limited-overs cricket was only starting to pick up. He was as much at ease while standing at the bowlers' end to the West Indian fast bowlers as he was to the famed spinners from India. His decisions were never questioned by the players as Brian Lara once said “you knew you were dismissed when he raised his index finger”. Such was the respect he commanded from the players.

Bird once recalled that one of the trickiest decisions he gave as an umpire involved Gundappa Viswanath, the Indian batting great of the 1970s. In the first Test of the 1974 series, which took place at Manchester, India was set a final innings target of 296 on the last day. After the loss of two early wickets, Sunil Gavaskar and Viswanath got together and took the score past 100, when the former was dismissed. Wickets fell at regular intervals after that, with Viswanath trying valiantly to hold together the middle and lower order. With the score at 180 and after he had completed a half-century under extremely difficult circumstances, Viswanath nicked a ball from Chris Old and was caught behind. Though it was a very faint edge, Bird saw it and raised his finger. He was surprised to see that Viswanath, who was considered a “walker” left the crease only after the decision was given.

Later, Bird asked Viswanath about the incident. “Sorry about that; I was batting well and stood there more in disappointment; besides, I did not think the faint nick would have carried to you!”, the batter told Bird.

Incidentally, wickets fell in a heap after that, and India were dismissed for 182, within a few balls after Viswanath’s exit. This incident highlights two aspects: one, India might have saved the Test had Bird not been such a good umpire, and two, the good spirit with which the game was played during those days and the camaraderie that existed even between players and umpires.

After retirement, Bird wrote his autobiography “My Autobiography”. It became a bestseller with more than a million copies sold. A sequel named “White Cap and Balls: Adventures of a much-travelled Umpire” followed two years later, which also became a huge hit. His popularity with the public remained unaffected even after his retirement, and he was invited to several reality TV shows. He remained a bachelor and spent his time on charity work, which involved helping disadvantaged youngsters to achieve excellence in sports. He was also associated with the running of Yorkshire cricket and became its President in 2014. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2012 and even received honorary doctorates from three universities.

The outpouring of grief that greeted the news of Bird’s demise on September 22 showed the love and affection that followers of the same retained for him even three decades after his retirement. He has earned his place in the hearts of lovers of cricket for all time to come.

Rest in peace, Harold Dennis 'Dickie' Bird. You made cricket immensely richer by your presence in and contributions to this beautiful game.