England Cricket / Maxliu / 28 October 2009 /

World cricket mourns loss of a great man and a world class umpire...

Retired cricket umpire David Shepherd has died at the age of 68.

Shepherd, who fought a long battle with cancer, took charge of 92 Tests and 172 ODIs, including four World Cup finals. As a player he scored over 10 thousand runs for Gloucestershire between 1965 and 1979.

But it was as an official that Shepherd really came into his own, being appointed a first class umpire in 1981 before a meteoric rise saw him take charge of his first Test in the 1985 Ashes series.

He was loved by fans around the world for his aversion to the Nelson and became famous for the superstitious dance he performed whenever the scoreboard ticked to the 111, 222, 333 etc.

Fellow ex-umpire Dickie Bird paid tribute to Shepherd, saying: "He was a fine umpire, we spent many happy hours together. He was a great man and a tremendous man to umpire with. He was a good bloke, he'll be sadly missed and he was a great friend."

David Shepherd, who was awarded an MBE for services to cricket in 1987, received a standing ovation at the end of his final international match, between England and Australia at the Oval in 2005.

Post your tributes and memories of David Shepherd below.

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