Last man standing

So the ‘ grand old man’ of umpiring has only five days left in his international career.

David Shepherd is standing for the last time in the second Test between the West Indies and Pakistan, in Jamaica. Throughout his esteemed career he has been one of the treasures of international cricket. His fascination with anything close to ‘nelson’ has kept us all amused over the years but first and foremost his ability as an umpire has inspired many. He can retire a very proud and satisfied human being.

He is a perfectionist and over the years he has spent many an hour assessing his on field performance. I encountered one such self-analysis discussion with ‘Shep’ whilst in the Caribbean.

I am going to test your memory now.

During the first Test in Guyana, Jacques Kallis played on as he attempted a hook shot very early in his innings. I was commentating at the time and was as surprised as any that ‘the rock’ was so adventurous first up. Anyway, he departed and South Africa subsequently got caught on the hop and found themselves in some trouble. The end result was that the Test was drawn and with the help of some seasonal weather in Guyana the visitors got out of jail.

Off we all went to Trinidad for the second Test. Players, commentators, umpires and television crew all stayed at the same hotel. Two days before the Test was due to commence I joined ‘Shep’ at the hotel coffee shop. General chitchat soon turned to more serious stuff. Shep was worried. I could tell something was on his mind. Eventually he opened up. As it turned out he was concerned that the delivery that dismissed Kallis in the first innings of the previous Test was a no-ball. It was bowled from his end.

My immediate response was that at the time it was not highlighted in any way on the broadcast, so it must have been a legitimate ball. He was not convinced.

Eventually he asked me to go back to the replay footage from the run out camera (which is statically positioned in line with the crease) and take a closer look. This I duly did. To my astonishment, Shep was right. Daren Powell had in fact overstepped! Now before you start getting excited let me finish. He overstepped by about half a centimetre!!!!!

Technically David Shepherd was right. He was still as fastidious as ever. He was upset with himself. His pride of performance is enormous. If only others displayed this level of dedication.

He can hang up that white coat knowing he has added to the great game.

He will be sorely missed.