Figures from sport attend funeral for cricket legend Dickie Bird

Cricket stars from Yorkshire and beyond were among mourners who gathered to bid farewell earlier at the funeral of legendary umpire Dickie Bird.

The Barnsley-born miner’s son was 92 when he died “peacefully at home” on September 22, according to the Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

The service at St Mary’s Church in Barnsley was attended by former England cricketers Sir Geoffrey Boycott and Michael Vaughan, and was followed by a private family funeral and burial at the town hall.

Well-wishers gathered in front of the Bird statue in Church Lane, where the funeral procession paused for a moment.

Among the guests was Yorkshire chairman Colin Graves and former director of cricket Martyn Moxon, sports commentator John Helm and former sports minister Richard Caborn.

Sir Geoffrey and Graves gave eulogies and a poem by local poet Ian McMillan was read.

Sir Geoffrey made sure the colorful character of his friend of almost 70 years came to the fore.

“I first met Dickie Bird when I was 15, playing cricket at Hemsworth Grammar School,” Sir Geoffrey told a packed church.

“He called me Gerald for years.”

He added: “Surprisingly, despite all the nerves he had as a batsman, he became a great umpire because he was able to channel all that nervous energy into good decisions.

“Dickie was refreshingly different. Eccentric but fair. It would be hard to find anyone who didn’t like her.”

Between 1973 and 1996, Bird featured in 66 Tests and 76 one-day internationals, including three World Cup finals.

He started out as a player, batting for Yorkshire and Leicestershire before an injury cut his career short in 1964.

Bird was awarded the MBE in 1986, the OBE in 2012 and the Freedom of Barnsley in 2000.

He was immortalized at Barnsley in 2009 with a statue depicting a batsman raising his index finger to indicate he was out.

At Yorkshire’s home ground, Headingley, he paid for a balcony outside the dressing room for the players to sit and watch the game. Both the balcony and the clock on the floor bear his name.

Former England and Yorkshire cricketer Ryan Sidebottom said Bird was so committed to Yorkshire cricket that he would even be on the field for county matches when he was not refereeing.

He said: “He’d be outside looking at the wicket and wandering around. But he looked like he’d just come in from a night out, like 1980s John Travolta, because he was dressed in full suits, with a big collar and tie, really smart suits and slacks.”

“We would see him regularly in different suits, some obscene suits, some inappropriate suits.”

Bowler Sidebottom retired in 2017 after taking more than 1,000 career wickets and Bird said he “absolutely loved” the sport.

“He’s a great guy and a lovely chap who would do anything for Yorkshire cricket. He loved Yorkshire so much, he was so passionate about the game and Yorkshire in general,” he said.

It was love for Yorkshire and its people that Yorkshire County Cricket Club chairman Colin Graves remembered at his funeral.

“He had a reputation for not being the first person at the bar, but he was a really generous man,” she said, adding that almost 1,000 children received donations from him.

Among the young cricketers who received financial rewards from Dickie was Harry Brook, now playing for England.

Speaking to the BBC two years ago when he turned 90, Bird said the secret to living long was a love of sport and exercise.

“I run, I go to the local football field in the local park and I do laps on the ground. I feel like it’s good for me.

“I would like people, older people, to be able to try doing a few exercises, moving their arms, running in place, it engages the brain.

“I will continue my exercises as much as I can.”

In his youth he played for Barnsley Cricket Club alongside Boycott and the journalist and broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson.