Legendary West Indies pacer Michael Holding opens up on demise of Dickie Bird
Updated On: 24 September, 2025 09:09 AM IST | Mumbai | Clayton Murzello
“Dickie and I had a very good relationship and we exchanged many stories including the nickname Whispering Death. Not sure people who don’t know me appreciate the name fully as ‘death’ is never something you want to be associated with, but people in the game got it, I think,” remarked Holding
Listen to this article :
Umpire Dickie Bird looks on as West Indies’s Michael Holding delivers a thunderbolt to an England batsman during the 1976 Test at the Oval in London. (right) Dickie Bird (left) gives Mike Atherton out LBW in his last Test match, between India and England at Lord’s, London, in 1996. Pics/Getty Images
Apart from the 66 Test matches and 69 one-day internationals Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird umpired in across a 23-year global cricket umpiring career, he also earned the distinction of coining one of the finest nicknames for a cricketer. Michael Holding, the great West Indies fast bowler, was called Whispering Death by Bird, who first umpired him in the 1976 Test series in England.
Passed away at home
Yorkshire County Cricket Club announced on Tuesday that Bird, 92, passed away in his Yorkshire home. “He [Bird] was a great umpire, respected by all and loved by many,” Holding, 71, told mid-day from the Cayman Islands on Tuesday.
Trending Stories
Latest Photos
Latest Videos
Latest Web Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
Mid-Day Fast
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT