Dales Council League: Britain's oldest umpire prepares for his 72nd season

Keith Dibb, 86, began officiating in 1952 and has taken charge of around 1,000 matches since then. Amd the grandad-of-four has no plans to call over on his innings just yet, despite having to stand at the stumps for up to six hours. Not even two shoulder operations and a two replacements have stopped him return to umpire matches Dales Council League as he has since 1995.

Keith, who has won the umpire's award three times for the league, said: "I've had a knee operation, but I'm not on sticks! I've not got any fear of being hit by the ball because I can still move around fairly quick. And I'm insured with the English Cricket Board for £15,000, so I've got the blessing from them."

The former medium bowler first caught the cricket bug at 13 when he joined a local team in North Yorkshire where he grew up. Because he was 11th in the batting order, he began officiating matches he played in way back in 1952 and had not missed a season of cricket since. And after he finished playing at the age of 47, he took up the role full-time and is still going strong despite his age.

But his early days behind the wicket for rural Hawksworth Cricket club, in Leeds, were a far less glamorous affair.

Keith, of Leeds, said: "We started in a field with cows in the corner, and we had to move them off before play. The first job I used to do was called a 'sh*t shoveler'. I had a wheelbarrow and a shovel and I cleared the cowpat so we could start playing. The farmer wouldn't let us cut the outfield because he wanted it for grazing for his milk cows. But we had the wicket fenced off and had a roller.

"At 3.30, they came from fine leg to long off on their way to milking on a single track. You didn't disturb them, you just stopped the game while they came through."

Keith's beloved wife of 59 years Margaret used to make the teas at the same club, and their two kids - Nigel, 56, and Wendy, 54 - both grew up playing the game.

He added: "When my son was born, my wife said 'don't get him into cricket'. But he followed me around when I played and was always playing with a plastic bat. My daughter always played cricket. Her mother was making the teas and her father and brother played together. S "he didn't want to be left out so she eventually joined a ladies team."

Keith was able to spend his later years around some of cricket's luminaries, including Dickie Bird, whose 90th birthday he attended at Headingley stadium in April. The pair had first met 15 years ago at Retford Gala in Nottinghamshire and had struck up a friendship after Keith offered to drive him back home.

Keith said: "I umpired for charity and took him home because he wouldn't drive. He asked me to umpire a game on behalf of his foundation in Harrogate. He said: 'It's Yorkshire versus the old stars.' So I got called up the following year.

"Fred Truman had died earlier on that year, and Dickie is very emotional. He came across the ground on the Sunday morning crying. He told me: 'I'm just thinking back to Fred's days. I played with him, and umpired him and now he's left us.' "After lunch he said: 'I want both teams out with black armbands.'"

Keith said he'd expected to meet England star batsman Johnny Bairstow at Dickie Bird's bash but found out he'd been replaced at short notice.

He went on: "He didn't turn up. He'd had a late night the night before. So he sent his mother instead."

Keith said when his wife Margaret tragically died of Covid in December 2020, cricket has been his main outlet for company. His daughter Wendy emigrated to New Zealand and Keith went over to visit in 2008 and ended up umpiring four matches - including a title decider in the Wellington League.

Standing at 6'4, Keith cuts an imposing figure at the crease and in his younger days, players would think the former textiles salesman was a police officer.

He added: "Since 1952, I must have done at least 1,000 games. I always put my coat on when I was in the team, and a lot of people thought I was a policeman, so I got respect. Of course, I wasn't, but I never corrected them. I thought let them think that, they'll not answer me back that way.

"I've had a few instances where teams have tried to cheat, but I always called it out. I was firm, but fair. You get the odd comment as players like to take part in sledging. When I was in New Zealand, an Australian bowler said with my coat I'd look better in a butcher's shop. He followed through down the wicket on one delivery and he apologised, but I said to him: 'If you do that again, I'll have blood on my coat'."