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One of cricket’s finest dies

Posted on | October 29, 2009 | 2 Comments

Cricket has lost one of its finest gentlemen with the passing of David Shepherd, the former Gloucestershire batsman and distinguished umpire.

His roly poly figure and apple cheeks belied a man who could give the ball a fearsome crack as a middle order batsman and, later, a keen analytical brain which took him to the top of the umpiring tree with three World Cup finals and 92 Tests under his commodious belt.

Unfailingly genial on and off the field he came from the tiny Devon coastal village of Instow where his brother ran the local post office and both played for the local cricket club. When showing the ground to visitors ‘Shep’, as he was universally known, would point out that if the ball was hit out of the ground at one end, the next land fall was America.

He thoroughly enjoyed life and would remark after a particularly good dinner: “Mother said there would be days like this”.

Geoff Boycott who knew him for many years and who wrote to him during his long fight with cancer said: “His experience of playing cricket for a long time at county level gave him an insight into the players and how to deal with them”.

“Of course umpires have to make decisions, and today the TV cameras highlight everything they do. But we forget that the job is also about people. There are 22 of them in each match, and if you can gain their respect, you have a big head start before the first ball is even bowled. David understood players because he had been there and done it himself.”

‘Shep’ was most upset when TV pictures showed that he had missed a number of no balls during England’s Test with Pakistan at Old Trafford and considered packing it all in. But friends rallied round and persuaded him that everyone makes mistakes and overall he was one of the best.

He loved his village and often said that his main comfort on long and arduous trips to the other side of the world was the knowledge that he had a ticket home.

He was without doubt one of the finest umpires of all time but will be most fondly remembered for his good humour in the most tense situations and as a delightful companion after the game.

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2 Responses to “One of cricket’s finest dies”

  1. jacq
    November 13th, 2009 @ 6:15 pm

    I never saw david shepherd play he was a good umpire and will be sadly missed

  2. jacq
    November 13th, 2009 @ 6:25 pm

    It would be nice if gloucestersire county cricket club could name a part of their ground after the late david shepherd

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