Yorkshire County Cricket Club Board has confirmed today that it has proposed the appointment of Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird OBE as Yorkshire’s new President at the next Annual General Meeting on 29 March.
- Harold ‘Dickie’ Birdadambowie / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA
The Board has nominated unanimously Dickie, the former Yorkshire player and international umpire, for the position, which has a one-year term.
Colin Graves, Chairman of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, said: “It is with great pleasure that Dickie has accepted our nomination. He is a passionate Yorkshireman that has the best interests of Yorkshire Cricket at heart. He attends every home match and his passion and dedication will be a major asset as the Club continues to develop over the next few years.”
Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird, said: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would become the President of the greatest Cricket Club in the world. It is a tremendous honour and I am very humble and proud.
“I am grateful to Chairman Colin Graves and the Yorkshire Board for nominating me and I’m looking forward to my term in office.
“There is nobody prouder than myself and to follow in the footsteps of some of the legends, such as Lord Hawke, FS Jackson, Sir Leonard Hutton, Brian Close, Bob Appleyard, Raymond Illingworth and Geoffrey Boycott, that have graced the Club as President is the proudest moment of my career.
“I am particularly excited about the current team and the influx of young players coming through the system. The coaching staff, under Martyn Moxon and Jason Gillespie, are creating a winning culture and I do believe we are on the verge of creating a team that we will all be proud of that will eventually lift some silverware.”
Harold Bird, 80, played for Yorkshire and Leicestershire from 1956 to 1964 scoring 3,314 runs in 94 matches. In 1977 he was voted Yorkshire personality of the year and in 1986 he received an MBE from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in her birthday honours list and in 2011 was awarded the OBE in 2011.
He retired in 1996, after 66 test matches, 93 one-day internationals and three World Cup finals. He has also received honorary doctorates from Leeds, Huddersfield and Sheffield Hallam Universities, appeared on Desert Island Discs, a Question of Sport and been the subject of This Is Your Life. His Autobiography is the biggest selling sports book of all time.
The Yorkshire Cricket President’s post has been held since 2012 by Geoffrey Boycott OBE.
Colin Graves, added: “I must thank Geoffrey, who has made an outstanding contribution during his two years in office. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to have worked with a true legend of both Yorkshire and world cricket. Geoffrey has been immense in his role and has been a faultless ambassador – promoting with enthusiasm and pride, our great Club across the world through his role as a broadcaster and column writer.”
James Buttler
As the editor of World Cricket Badger he is intent on building the website to give quality coverage of the domestic game around the world.
He is also the presenter of the Cricket Badger Radio Show on Radio Yorkshire every Tuesday evening between 7-9pm UK time.
James was the full-time Media Manager at Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 2007 and 2010.
James is a published author, a writer/video contributor to many cricket publications and a complete cricket badger!
Latest posts by James Buttler (see all)
- #UAE15: Bon voyage Derbyshire as Champions Yorkshire land in Abu Dhabi - March 13, 2015
- Sussex sign Mahela Jayawardene for NatWest T20 Blast - March 13, 2015
- #CWC15: Shami books India into World Cup quarter after West Indies win - March 6, 2015
One thought on “It’s going to be President Dickie Bird of Yorkshire”