Bronze statue of umpire Bird to be unveiled in home town

LONDON (Reuters) - A bronze statue of England's best-known umpire Harold 'Dickie' Bird will be unveiled in his Yorkshire home town of Barnsley this year with replicas in Melbourne and a site in India, the BBC reported on Thursday.

Bird, 74, umpired 66 test matches and three World Cup finals before retiring in 1996.

An instantly recognisable character, he incurred the wrath of crowds with his willingness to leave the field at the slightest hint of rain but won the gratitude of batsmen with his reluctance to give lbw decisions.