Today we present to you some interesting quotes from legendary England cricket umpire Harold Dennis “Dickie” Bird who is 88 today. He stood as the umpire in 66 Tests and 69 ODIs during 1973-96, probably during the period when cricket saw the emergence of ODI cricket and the rise and fall of Caribbean cricket empire.

[caption id="attachment_130674" align="alignnone" width="391"] Dickie Bird near his statue in Barnsley, England[/caption]

* “If I had to describe myself as an umpire, I’d like to say I was honest and fair. I treated everybody on the field as human beings and as professional cricketers. If I had the respect of the players, then (it is) marvellous.”

* “Zhe one thing I’ve missed is not having a family. I think I’d have made a good father. But I’ve seen so many divorces in cricket, and I’m the kind of chap, it would have killed me if I’d had a broken marriage. That’s why I never married. I was married to cricket.”

* “Once I crossed the boundary rope, I was okay. I was on top then. I used to say to myself ‘this is mine’.”

* “I don’t care much about the television cameras. I just give my decisions. As I see it. As you and I see it.”

* “I’ve been a believer all my life –
and I know that if you have faith in the Lord then you can conquer the world.”