Harold Denis Bird, known throughout the cricketing world as "Dickie", is still the most well-known and acclaimed umpire to have donned a white coat, despite the fact that he retired from Test cricket in 1996.

There are many who yearn for the old days when the likes of Dickie Bird were seen as beacons of impartiality and authority, especially at a time when the spotlight, once again, has been turned on international umpiring. Batsmen given out by the little man in the white cap could at least sit in the pavilion and console themselves with the thought: "If Dickie gave it, it must have been out." Thoughts of bowlers who suffered as numerous appeals were greeted with "not out", delivered in distinctive Barnsley tones, are best left unrecorded.

Not only are there few umpires around today who command the same respect, but there is also a threat to the integrity of the trade. It comes from the increasing use of the third umpire. A close call will more often than not see the man in the middle drawing a square in the air with his forefingers, as the third official turns to his television monitor. This is not a trend that meets with the full approval of Dickie Bird.

"There are now only three decisions left for the man in the middle to make," said Bird. "Those are the bat/pad, the caught behind and the LBW. The third umpire makes all the other decisions. The way things are going, it looks as if they're going to bring electronic aids in for those three decisions as well, and I think that's very sad.

"The umpires that I was brought up with – Arthur Fagg, Syd Buller, Charlie Elliott and people like that – are finished. I did have the electronic aids available for the last six years of my career, but for the first 20 I just had to use the human eye. I think it is very, very sad that the old umpire has gone, but it all boils down to money. Winning means everything. Don't get me wrong – we all like to win but, once we lose the enjoyment of playing the sport, you're gone and it's all down to money."

The fact is that Dickie Bird can himself be numbered with the likes of Fagg, Buller and Elliott. However, if there are not men of the same stature available now, it is perhaps necessary to use the available technology to avoid mistakes obvious to millions watching on television. But Bird views this problem in a different way. His outlook is the product of a different age.

"I'm a big believer in accepting the umpire's decision and getting on with the game. Of course, if the umpire isn't up to it, then it might be that the electronic aids are needed to help him. But I always say that, in any walk of life and whatever job you are doing, the man who makes the fewest mistakes is the man who goes to the top. And he stays there. If you can get good umpires, I don't think you need all these electronic aids."

In the old days, when mistakes were not broadcast around the world, it was acceptable to uphold the Bird philosophy. Now, when mistakes are so obvious, the umpire might need the same advantages as the millions sitting at home. He might need that protection from making a fool of himself.

"I can see that," retorts Bird, "but I think what has happened is that the third umpire has become the most important man. He's certainly more important than the men in the middle and, if further aids come in, he'll be the man running the game. I still feel it's taking authority away from the umpire.

"Another thing is the time these third umpire decisions take. You pay a lot of money to watch Test matches in this day and age, and if you take a family along it costs a fortune. It's going to hold the play up and I think we've got to get on with the game. There's a danger we won't get any cricket in at all."

There are some who might say that the man whose career was dogged by bad light, rain, and even water coming up through the ground from a broken water pipe, is in no position to talk about the quantity of cricket played in a day. However, it comes down to a question of balance. There is a need to keep play moving, but not at the cost of a succession of blatantly erroneous decisions from the umpires. Umpiring is not just a matter of holding a sweater and counting up to six. It is a high-pressure job and the men who undertake it deserve all the help they can muster.

© CricInfo Ltd.