Bird: Umpires obsolete

Dickie Bird had an emotional final Test at Lord's

Umpring legend Dickie Bird, who stood in 66 Test matches, believes the profession which made him famous will soon be obsolete.

Ahead of the final Test between England and Sri Lanka, Bird said the controversy surrounding the series could be the final nail in the coffin for the men in the middle.

"The umpire is finished," Bird said. "They could be playing without umpires as early as October."

Bird has watched in dismay at the increasing reliance on electronic aids to solve contentious decisions.

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And the man who umpired his final Test match at Lord's in 1996 believes the umpire's remaining authority - over bad-pad, caught behind and lbw decisions - will be fazed out.

"They have have had all of their authority stripped away from them and soon all they will have left to do is count to six and hold jumpers," the Yorkshireman added.

Players must not bend rules

Bird insists the players are as much to blame as anybody for their part in recent events with over-appealing and shows of dissent.

And he had some advice for the English and Sri Lankan players as they prepare for the vital clash.

"Players have always appealed and there is nothing wrong with that but sometimes they have gone beyond the pale," Bird said.

"The players must accept some responsibility and only appeal for things worth appealing for. There must be a happy medium.

"If I was umpiring, I'd get my colleague, both captains and all the players together before it started.

You can have all the electronic aids in the world and you'll never get a perfect decision

  Dickie Bird

"And I'd say gentlemen, I'm being fair and honest, and you're going to go out there and play cricket within the laws."

Bird admitted he felt his judgment was being compromised when the electronic aids were introduced three years prior to his retirement and feels they are not the ideal solution.

"In this day and age with the vast amounts of money that are at stake everybody is after a perfect decision," he said.

"Lbws are a matter of opinion. I think we need to help out the umpires more. They have been part of the game going right back in history.

"They make the occasional mistake but I am a big believer in accepting the umpire's decision and just getting on with things."