Dickie Bird passes away: From Sachin Tendulkar's Pepsi ad to cutting Sunil Gavaskar's hair and halting play for toilet break - read his most biggest moments

Renowned English umpire Harold Dennis Bird, popularly known as Dickie Bird, passed away at the age of 92 on Tuesday (September 23). One of the most famous umpires of his time, Bird was extremely loved by the players and fans alike. Much like a player enjoying the game while playing, Bird's ultimate joy was in umpiring and his body language on the ground always suggested that this was where he always wanted to be.

Bird had an unwavering devotion to the game but also possessed an exemplary sense of humour to deal with the toughest of situations. It ensured that he maintained a fine camaraderie with players who adored him even when his decisions didn't go their way. Bird's method of raising his finger to give a batter out was a trademark, one that made him stand out from the rest.

Let us have a look at some of the most famous Dickie Bird moments

Sunil Gavaskar haircut incident

During the 1970s, players didn't wear helmets and if anything, wore caps. Sunil Gavaskar mostly did neither and his long mane often looked messy when there was strong wind blowing. During one such incident, he was annoyed with his hair and asked Bird to help. Umpires had scissors to trim the seam of the ball at times, so Bird used that to chop a bit of Gavaskar's hair.

The comical Ian Botham-Allan Lamb mobile phone incident

In the modern era, mobile phones are not even permitted in the dressing room, let alone the ground. However, long before all this, there was a funny incident involving Bird. Allan Lamb walked out to bat with a hand phone and after relentless requests, Bird allowed him to keep it in his pocket. After a while, it started ringing and an irritated Bird took control of the phone. 'This is Dickie Bird," he said. To this, Botham replied, 'This is Ian Botham, tell that fellow Lamb to either hit or get out."

The famous toilet break at Old Trafford

Once during a Test match between England and West Indies at Manchester, Bird couldn't resist nature's call despite trying his best to do so. Therefore, he halted play and walked off the field after expressing his apologies to the players. The fans in the ground roared as they saw the funny side of it.

Sitting on ground during a Lord's bomb scare

During 1980, there was a flood alert in London and a bomb scare at Lord's. Even as inspection carried on around the ground, Bird looked calm and composed as he sat on the covers all through this process, having a look at the ground by himself.

Pepsi ad with Sachin Tendulkar

We are habituated to seeing players doing ads but Bird was ahead of his time as an umpire. He wasn't the first cricket official to do an ad but certainly was the most popular of the lot to do so. The Pepsi ad with Sachin Tendulkar in 1996 was a laugh riot and became an instant hit.

 

The record-breaking umpire retires at Lord's

Dickie Bird quit umpiring in 1996 at Lord's, coincidentally in the same Test match that saw the debuts of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

At the time, Bird's 66 Tests and 69 ODIs including three World Cup finals were an all-time record for umpires.

 

Dickie Bird statue is unveiled

In 2009, Yorkshire paid the ultimate tribute to Bird by erecting a six-foot statute of the legend in his home town of Barnsley. The statue had Bird raising his finger to give a batter out in his trademark fashion.