Yorkshire CCC pays fitting tribute to its ‘godfather’ on hard-fought first day
IT’s a good job that Dickie wasn’t here. If he had been, the tears would have flowed, the bottom lip would have quivered, and the glasses would have steamed up like nobody’s business.
He was here, of course, in spirit anyway as Headingley paid tribute to the former umpire. He was practically the godfather of this place - Yorkshire’s answer to Don Corleone without, of course, the guns and the grief, a man who commanded equal respect in his own cheerful way.
After Dickie’s death at the age of 92, which cast such a shadow on the eve of this final match of the season, one in which Durham reached 322-7 on a hard-fought first day, a good-sized crowd had gathered in homage. Why, you might say that it was an offer they couldn’t refuse, even if they did have to fork out to get into the ground.
In the stands, the minute’s applause before the start of play was as enthusiastic as it was on the field, where the players and staff of both clubs, along with umpires Steve O’Shaughnessy and Mike Burns, stood in front of the pavilion beneath sun-washed blue skies on a crisp and clear autumn morning.
On The Dickie Bird Players’ Balcony, which he paid for himself a decade ago, a familiar figure joined the appreciation. Ben Stokes, of Durham, was here to train ahead of the Ashes as he continues his comeback from a shoulder injury, the England Test captain bowling off a few paces during the lunch break in front of a deserted West Stand, one that famously rose to him six summers ago when he did that ridiculous thing with Jack Leach and won a Test against the old enemy.
In the pavilion, as a short video montage of Dickie played on the big screen outside, a simple gesture said it all on a day when Yorkshire got their tribute just right. Dickie’s seat - just in front of the Hawke Suite in which Sir Geoffrey Boycott was among those present - was adorned with an umpire’s coat, a flat cap and a Yorkshire rose, a lovely gesture.
You could say that Boycott, of the surviving Yorkshire CCC legends/household names, is now the last man standing, one who has repelled every effort to remove him from the crease by the terrible cancer he has battled so bravely.
Yes, it was an emotional day at the grand old ground, one on which events off the field felt as significant as those on it, even if Yorkshire are locked in a relegation fight with, primarily, Durham and Hampshire.
As it was finally confirmed that the status quo of 14 games per county and a 10-8 divisional split will remain from next season, Yorkshire retained their six-point lead over Durham on the live table, having gone into the game needing 10 points to guarantee survival (they now know that a draw would definitely be enough to keep them up).
As if in tribute to the man we had all come to honour, Yorkshire made an excellent start to proceedings. That they lost the toss on a pitch that looked more like the M1 than the green-tops seen here earlier in the season – albeit an M1 without the 50mph speed restrictions, roadworks and diversion signs – did not augur well for the hosts but they took two wickets in the first five overs, Matt Milnes having Alex Lees defending to third slip and Jack White inducing an edged drive from Emilio Gay to the same position, Fin Bean the catcher both times.
Dom Bess dropped Ben McKinney at first slip off George Hill when the score was 33, but it had risen by just 18 runs when Hill then had the left-hander caught behind, McKinney having played some handsome shots and looked dangerous, especially through the offside.
The opening spells of Milnes and White were excellent and Hill and Jordan Thompson backed them up nicely, Yorkshire having reason to be pleased with a lunchtime position of 68-3 from 28 overs.
After Stokes went through his paces in front of the West Stand, and the Yorkshire women’s team took the crowd’s applause for their recent 50-over Cup success during the lunch break too, Durham hit back in the afternoon to move to 152-3 at one stage.
They might have fallen to 84-4 but Hill dropped Will Rhodes, the former Yorkshire all-rounder, on 17 off Thompson as he moved to his left.
Instead, Rhodes and David Bedingham, the prolific South African, added 101 before Bess finally got rid of Rhodes, who clipped to James Wharton at mid-wicket having made 50 exactly. Thirteen balls later it was 155-5, Hill bowling Ollie Robinson as he shouldered arms.
Thompson had Graham Clark lbw playing to leg after tea to give Yorkshire their second bonus point, Ben Raine taking Durham to their second with a fine, counter-attacking unbeaten 87 along with Matthew Potts, who was spilled by wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow just before stumps off Hill.
Earlier, Hill took a quite brilliant catch running back from first slip when Bedingham top-edged a pull off White, falling seven short of a hundred.
Dickie would have loved that catch – just as everyone here loved Dickie.