A Loss to International Cricket
By Dr. Aamir A. Salaria
St. Peters , Missouri
The tragic news of the passing away of world renowned test and ODI cricket umpire David Shepherd is truly shocking. He was by far the most respected and one of the best umpires in the world. Together with Dickie Bird, he made up an excellent combination in the middle, no matter where the venue used to be.
His unique on the field 'one-legged dance' every time the score was on a Nelson will be remembered by all cricket lovers for ever. Having officiated in 92 Tests and 172 one-day internationals, including three World Cup finals, speaks of his immense talents and credentials,
which are second to none in the world of cricket. On top of that, he was an excellent first class cricketer too and had a productive career as a batsman for the Gloucestershire county in the UK, making10,672 runs in a career lasting from 1965 to 1979.
He was a great individual with an excellent sense of humor. I had the honor of meeting him in person at the famous and historic Sharjah Cricket Stadium during his umpiring stints in the 1990s and found him an outstanding character, who knew how to operate professionally amid highly charged, maddening and emotional crowd, especially in the Pakistan vs India matches.
During one of the ODI matches at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium between Pakistan and the West Indies, I vividly remember that due to intensive heat, humidity and dust, his partner Dickie Bird, got so exhausted that he had to be virtually carried off the field by the fielding West Indies players. Since it was a neutral venue, wherein only neutral officiating umpires were allowed by the ICC, a trifling problem occurred when the stand-by umpire was found to be a Pakistani.
Nevertheless, the West Indies captain and players graciously allowed the Pakistani umpire to officiate in place of the 'injured or exhausted' Dickie Bird. David Shepherd also accepted his presence but only as a "leg umpire" to continue with the game.
Every cricket lover will fondly remember his last and final one-day international match that he officiated between England and Australia, at the famous Oval cricket stadium in England, where he received a standing ovation from the whole crowd including players, officials, fans and even those watching him on the television. May God Almighty bless his soul and grant his family, friends, peers, pals, associates and the entire global cricket fraternity courage and fortitude to bear his irreparable loss. Ameen.
