It was perhaps inevitable that a deluge should swamp Headingley on the day Dickie Bird ended a 50-year association with cricket.

The start of this week's championship clash between Yorkshire and Warwickshire was delayed by the terrible weather..

This, after all, was the scene of one of the most remarkable incidents even in Dickie's eventful umpiring career, and one which still haunts him a decade later.

There had been days of heavy rain leading up to the Fourth Test between England and the West Indies in July, 1988, and groundsman Keith Boyce and his staff were to be congratulated on mopping up so well that the match began only 50 minutes late.

But just two overs had been bowled when water started to spurt almost miraculously out of the ground and over the shoes of the astonished Dickie and the equally amazed West Indies paceman Curtly Ambrose.

Although it was never openly admitted, it was believed that someone had ordered the drains to be blocked in order to retain some of the moisture on the square, but the downpour of the previous night proved too much for the sodden earth to soak up.

Dickie suffered verbal abuse from the angry fans as he and the players trooped off and although he loudly and indignantly told them that the water spout was nothing to do with him they chose not to believe him.

But such is Dickie's character that the incident won him even more friends and it is this unique affection with the general public which has resulted in his hardback biography selling a staggering 350,000 copies - with the paperback due out at the end of this month.

As the rain pelted down and Dickie chatted to the Press on Wednesday, he didn't actually deny a suggestion that he was worth at least a million.

"I've got a bob or two and I'll come back next year and buy you all a pint," he promised.

"Between us?" someone asked.

"No, one each."

Dickie then had time to recall some of the outstanding personalities he has come across during 28 years of umpiring.

"The best all-round cricketer without a doubt is Garfield Sobers. If there has ever been one better I would like to have seen him. A great bloke as well as a tremendous player.

"Viv Richards and Barry Richards are the finest batsmen I have seen and Dennis Lillee the greatest fast bowler and Pakistan's Abdul Qadir the best spinner.

"The best Test innings I have ever seen was John Edrich's fighting 34 out of an England total of 101 against Australia on a treacherous rain-affected pitch in the First Test at Edgbaston in 1975 when Lillee captured five for 15 and Max Walker five for 48.

"And the four greatest captains in my opinion have been Richie Benaud, Ray Illingworth, Mike Brearley and Ian Chappell."

It was time now, at 65, Dickie conceded, to call it a day. "I passed a strict medical for first class umpires at the start of the season but hearing and sight cannot be as keen at my age."

On Monday Dickie will take charge of an XK8 Jaguar in Sapphire Blue which is about the only luxury he will allow himself.

His future is still uncertain, but he has not ruled out the possibility of standing for election to the Yorkshire committee.

"I lot of people keep telling me I should and maybe I will," he said, before returning to the field for another inspection.

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