Former England captain Graham Gooch led the tributes to Dickie Bird while remembering with a smile the time he hit the beloved umpire with a straight drive.
Bird, who stood in 66 Test matches and became one of the most recognisable figures in cricket, has died at the age of 92.
Tributes have flooded in from the cricketing fraternity and beyond with Barnsley , his hometown football club, announcing they will hold a minute’s applause at their Carabao Cup tie against Brighton on Tuesday evening.
Bird was in the middle when Gooch played his most famous Test innings, 333 against India at Lord’s in 1990.
But it was another match, against Australia at Old Trafford in 1985, which Gooch recalled fondly.
“He tried to get out of the way of the straight drive – but of course it hit him