David Shepherd

London: David Shepherd, the umpire famous around the world for his ruddy cheeks, sound judgement and habit of hopping on one leg when the score was on ‘Nelson’, died last night from cancer at the age of 68.

Shepherd, known to most people as “Shep”, was a West Countryman to his core. Born and brought up in Devon, his work took him around the world, but he was always happiest when back home in Instow, North Devon, where he would help his brother to run the family post office and was a stalwart of the local cricket club.

He was a good enough cricketer to represent the England Schools under-19 side, and was belatedly scouted by Gloucestershire. He made his first-class debut in 1965 at the age of 24, and went on to play 282 matches, scoring 12 hundreds with a batting average in the mid-20s.

His playing career ended in 1979 and, declining a coaching job with the county, he qualified as a first-class umpire. He made his international debut at the 1983 World Cup, and stood in 92 Tests and 172 one-day Internationals, before retiring in 2005. Fittingly for a West Countryman, his final county match was at Bristol.

He stood in three successive World Cup finals in 1996, 1999 and 2003, a mark of his renown for fairness and good humour. At the end of his final Test, between Pakistan and West Indies in Jamaica in 2005, he was embraced by the players and presented with a bat by Brian Lara, the then West Indies captain, on which he had written: “Thank you for the service, the memories and the professionalism.”

His superstitious habit of hopping on one leg when the team score or a batsman was on 111 or a multiple thereof — known as ‘Nelson’ — endeared him to players and onlookers alike.

Asked to reflect on his career after the game, Shepherd said: “It’s been a very long road but basically a very happy one,” he said. “It’s very important to get the respect of the players. It’s also very important for umpires to respect players — it’s a mutual thing.”

David Graveney, the former England chairman of selectors, made his debut for Gloucestershire in 1972 when Shepherd was a senior player. “He was a father figure to the younger players,” Graveney said.

“He always made us feel welcome. I can’t think of anyone who had a cross word to say about him. He scored runs at crucial times in his Milburnesque way and more than once got Gloucestershire off the rack in 1973, when we won the Gillette Cup.”

Simon Taufel, the Australian umpire, said Shepherd taught him that “in order to be a good umpire, you needed to be a good person first.”

“I could never fault Shep’s fairness, integrity or desire to umpire well,” he said. “He took enormous pride in his work and in his performance — if he ever made an error, he took it personally, which showed me that he truly cared about what he was doing.”

Noting Shepherd’s lack of athleticism — while praising his fitness even in hot conditions — Taufel added: “Shep and I had a deal going with each other on tour — I would do an extra lap for him in the gym and he would have an extra scoop of ice cream at the end of a day's play for me.”

Shepherd is survived by Jenny, his partner since 1973, whom he married last year.