Cricket icon Dickie Bird's funeral date confirmed

The funeral of iconic former cricket umpire Dickie Bird will take place on Sunday.

Bird, one of cricket's most beloved figures, died at the age of 92 on 22 September.

His funeral, at 14:00 BST at St Mary's Church, in Barnsley, will be followed by a private family-only cremation at Barnsley Crematorium.

Barnsley Council said while "limited" seating may be available in the church, there will be speakers to broadcast the service to anyone who wishes to remain outside.

It had been Bird's wish that the service took place at the weekend so those who wished to attend could do so, a council spokesperson said.

They added that a temporary road closure at St Mary's Gate, outside the church, would be in place all day.

Meanwhile, Church Lane will also be closed for a few minutes at about 13:45 BST to allow the funeral procession to pause for a moment of reflection in front of Bird's statue.

Bird, whose real name was Harold, was born in Barnsley and grew up playing club cricket with legendary England batsman Sir Geoffrey Boycott and journalist and TV host Sir Michael Parkinson.

Bird's own first-class playing career was cut short by injury, but he went on to become one of the most famous faces in the game as an umpire.

He officiated in 66 Tests and 76 one-day internationals, including three World Cup finals, between 1973 and 1996.

Following Bird's death, Parkinson's son, Mike, paid tribute saying the pair, who used to open the batting for Barnsley Cricket Club as teenagers, were "very similar people" in that they "couldn't quite believe where they had come from".

"If you think about those two young men sitting together at the end of play, there's no way they could've imagined where they would end up," Mr Parkinson added.

Bird was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1986 and Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2012, and he was awarded the Freedom of Barnsley in 2000.

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