David Shepherd Dies

[Antepli Ejderha]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/oct/28/david-shepherd-obituary

A sad die for sport, the hops on Nelsons made cricket worth watching.

[Gangster Octopus]

David Shepherd Dies

The worst thing about neutral umpires was the vanishing of Shepherd from our screens. (Before Sky, obviously...)

[Guest]

David Shepherd Dies

Aye, an appropriate suggested tribute to him on the Cricinfo Facebook group.

[Gangster Octopus]

David Shepherd Dies

Does anyone know what the longest he had to stand on one leg was?

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

David Shepherd Dies

It would have been appropriate if he'd lived to be 111.

[Tubby Isaacs]

David Shepherd Dies

Sad indeed. The best English umpire, I think.

I'm not sure what the fact he played for my county for 14 years says about the standard of cricket in the seventies, mind.

[E10 Rifle]

David Shepherd Dies

The latest issue of the Wisden Cricketer contains a fantastic photo of Shepherd batting for Gloucester in the Seventies. Everything about his demeanour - the overweight stooping over the bat, the obvious absence of any backlift in his stance, the long-sleeved shirt untidily rolled up a little bit, the lack of helmet or cap or any sort of logo anywhere other than on his bat - encapsulates, in its way, everything that's changed about professional cricket in the last 30-40 years. It's a cracking image.

I don't know if Robin Carmody follows cricket but if he did, he'd probably say something about it with reference to Heath, Wilson and the Beatles singing in American accents.

[Tony C]

David Shepherd Dies

I'm currently ploughing manfully through the quiz from this month's 'Wisden Cricketer'.

Great prizes, but they make you work for them.