‘All the players loved him – cricket was his life’published at 14:28 BST
Jonathan Agnew, BBC chief cricket commentator
“He was one of those umpires to whom mishaps would occur. Bad light would always seem to come when Dickie was umpiring.
“At Headingley, the whole ground flooded one time because of a problem with the drainage system. Dickie Bird was umpiring.
“He didn’t give a lot out, especially LBWs. He was always quite safe and secure.
“All the players loved him. He was brilliant at defusing situations on the field.
“Fast bowlers like Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson – these big, aggressive characters – there could be some argy bargy on the field at times and yet they completely respected Dickie Bird.
“If he stepped in and said, ‘c’mon lads, let’s get on with the game’, they stopped and got on with the game. He was massively respected. He was loved.
“He never married. Cricket was his life – his whole life. He just loved cricket.
“He was eccentric. If you are so devoted to anything there is probably some element of eccentricity about you and, in Dickie’s case, it was cricket.
“He was a good player. He was always very nervous as a player – he’d be shaking, trembling and terribly anxious.
“He didn’t have many shots as a batsman and got moved on from Yorkshire and came to Leicestershire.
“He just belonged out there with his white coat and white cap.”