What Today's Wayward Cricketers Can Learn From Dickie Bird

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 11 October 2025 Now when cricket's image is tarnished across the world owing to the just concluded Asia Cup in Dubai in which Indian and Pakistani cricketers crossed all limits of fair play, one remembers the dignified and legendary umpire Harold Dennis "Dickie" Bird who always maintained the decorum of the game and would discipline the erratic cricketers on the field. Cricket lovers in England and elsewhere would visit cricket grounds to watch Dickie Bird officiate matches with utmost integrity and discipline. The old-timers saw him bat when Dickie played first-class cricket for Yorkshire and Leicestershire as a right-handed batsman. Fans would tell that Dickie was such a zealous follower of cricket that despite having a reputation of a very honest and stern umpire, at times, he even nodded his head in appreciation when Sunil Gavaskar hit a perfect straight drive or the imperious Sir Vivian Richards would hook a perfectly pitched delivery for a huge six. He told cricket journalist Lawrence Booth that though an umpire was supposed to remain completely indifferent on the ground, he was after all a human and also a first-class cricketer who saw and played with the peerless Sir Garry Sobers, Boycott, Imran, Barry Richards, Peter May, Bedi, among others. "Appreciate the game whoever is playing. On the cricket field, all players are friends and they must be above their petty differences, " he'd always tell the scribes. The greatness of Bird was his gentlemanship. In fact, he was a gentleman to a fault. He never behaved curtly with any players and was dead against any kind of discrimination, esp. racial discrimination. It was the firmness of Bird that he mildly reprimanded his favourite West Indian pacer Malcolm Marshall during the Final of Prudential World Cup in 1983, played between the mighty West Indies and the underdog India. The great Marshall was hurling bouncers at the Indian tailenders and Dickie Bird sternly told him not to bowl bouncers when the lower order batsmen were batting. Marshall apologised because he too respected and adored Bird. Dickie Bird wrote in his immensely readable autobiography, simply titled My Autobiography, that, ' Cricket is a gentleman's game and whoever is associated with it in any capacity, is also a gentleman.' So very true. But what would have he said had he witnessed the Asia Cup between India and Pakistan? A completely committed professional, he never tied the knot and when someone once asked him, " Dickie, you never missed the marital life? " Dickie said, " I never found time from cricket to marry." Yes, Dickie never found time from cricket. He played, umpired and also did social service and donated money to the welfare of the non-white cricketers. Such wonderful humans are seldom seen in the arena of cricket any longer esp, when the game has become so fiercely competitive and also ungentlemanly in recent times. The vintage world of cricket would miss one of the greatest umpires in the history of cricket who's bracketed with the English cricketer and umpire Frank Chester. Today's umpires should also learn from Dickie how to discipline wayward cricketers and retain the decorum of the game. Cricketers can learn how to behave on and off the field. They should also never argue with an umpire and his on the field decisions. But now everything has become extremely commercial and perhaps too matter-of-fact. Cricket has lost its sheen and sophistication. Au revoir, Mr Bird. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URl: https://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/wayward-cricketers-dickie-bird/d/137186 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism