A true gentleman

David Shepherd: A tribute to one of the finest umpires cricket ever had.

In sports, an official is supposed to have a good game if you don’t read his name in the newspapers the next day. Officials are supposed to stay away from the limelight and go about their business in the most unremarkable fashion. You either remember them for controversial incidents or for being spot-on in their decision-making. Umpire David Shepherd belonged to the latter category. As he used to say, “The game is not about us, it’s about the players.” Yet the game will remember him as fondly as it will some other legendary participants.

Shepherd, one of the most admired umpires the game has ever seen, succumbed to cancer last week. He leaves behind a legacy and a trademark style which will not be matched. Fans will remember Shepherd as a man who did his famous hop when the score board reached 111. Shepherd was superstitious about the number 111 as it was considered unlucky in cricket, and kept one foot off the ground till the score moved beyond that number. A statue of Shepherd in this famous pose has been erected near the Lords cricket ground, the mecca of cricket.

Shepherd officiated at over 250 matches — 92 Tests and 172 ODIs — in international cricket. Not a single controversial incident comes to mind.

Shepherd started out as a first class cricketer for English county Gloucestershire and had a reputation as one of the most hard-hitting batsmen of the era. He even scored a century on his debut, but his forte lay elsewhere. Though he never played international cricket, he was a part of the sport for over 20 years. His first test match as umpire was in 1985, when he stood with another legendary umpire, Dickie Bird.

Shepherd grew to be one of the most reputed umpires of the game. He holds the distinction of standing in three World Cup finals — 1996, 1999 and 2003. Most international cricketers shared an excellent rapport with him and Shane Warne in his tribute called him “an absolute beauty”. Then there’s the famous image of Curtly Ambrose walking off the field in his last test match with his arms around Shepherd, telling him how much he’d enjoyed watching him umpire.

Often, umpires come to mind for the wrong reasons. Take for instance Darrel Hair, who called Muttiah Muralitharan for chucking, or even Darryl Harper, who infamously judged Sachin Tendulkar LBW when the ball hit him on the shoulder. With Shepherd, no such instances come to mind. Instead, you are reminded of a Santa Claus-like figure who had a smile on his face that helped break on-field tension.

Shepherd had strong views on the use of technology and in one interview said that he feared an umpire’s job might eventually be restricted to counting the number of deliveries in an over. Observing how sledging was becoming part of the game, he never allowed players to step over the line. He even once said that he had “lectured” former England cricket captain Michael Atherton for sledging Sachin Tendulkar.

His last test match was between the West Indies and Pakistan in 2005, where Brian Lara presented him with a commemorative bat. The ICC gave him a special dispensation to umpire at Lords as his final Test. But Shepherd turned down the opportunity, maintaining the ICC’s neutral umpiring policy for Test matches.

Simon Taufel, often described as the best umpire in the world, looked up to Shepherd “both as an official and as an umpire”. Shepherd will be remembered not only for being an excellent official but someone who embodied the spirit of the game. Cricket is known as the gentleman’s game and Shepherd was a true gentleman of the sport, and will be remembered for his utmost dedication to it. His legacy will live on and modern day umpires face a challenge in living up to the standards set by Shepherd.