Queen Elizabeth II: Dickie Bird praises 'tremendous ambassador'

Mr Bird, pictured with the Queen, recalled how he umpired charity cricket matches at Windsor Castle

Retired cricket umpire and Yorkshire icon Dickie Bird has described Queen Elizabeth II as a "tremendous ambassador" for Britain.

Paying tribute to the late Queen, who died at her Balmoral estate on Thursday, Mr Bird, 89, from Barnsley, said he had met the monarch 29 times.

He recalled umpiring charity cricket matches for Her Majesty, which also included regular lunch invitations.

He was also twice honoured by the Queen for services to cricket and charity.

Mr Bird said: "She's done well for this nation; she's done well for the Commonwealth.

"She's been a tremendous ambassador and I shall miss her a lot."

Mr Bird, who umpired 66 Test matches and 69 One-Day Internationals during his career, said his proudest moments were when he was alone with the Queen.

"She always invited me to umpire matches for her, for injured jockeys, at Windsor Castle," he recalled.

"Each time she always said, 'You have lunch with me'. I always had lunch with her, just the Queen and I, before the match started."

Dickie Bird, pictured in 2012 with the future King Charles III in 2012, said he would certainly miss the Queen

Mr Bird, who was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1986 and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2012, remembered a phone call he once received inviting him to lunch.

"I said - because I thought someone was taking the mickey - if I have been invited to have lunch at Buckingham Palace, I will walk to it from Barnsley."

Mr Bird said he found himself chatting with the Queen.

"She said I'd better have a drink and I said, 'If I may, I will have a glass of red wine' and she said, 'I'll have a drink with you, Dickie."

Paying tribute, Mr Bird said the Queen had been a "tremendous, powerful, strong lady".

"She's been magnificent," he added.

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