Memories of Umpire David Shepherd Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The world-class cricket umpire, David Shepherd, was born in the small English town of Bideford during World War II. In which county, which is also home to Exeter and Plymouth, is Shepherd's hometown of Bideford?

Answer: Devon

In 1940 David Shepherd was born into a family residing at Bideford, Devon which is one of many quaint English port towns. Before becoming a professional cricket umpire, Shepherd would prove to be a decent player of the sport and in particular showed talent as a batsman and a fielder.

2. Even though David Shepherd would become internationally famous as a cricket umpire, he did himself play cricket to a first class level. He became a crowd and team favourite at Gloucestershire and on his debut he managed to hit a century of runs. Which team from the "city of dreaming spires" did Gloucestershire play against for Shepherd's debut?

Answer: Oxford University

It must have felt quite satisfying to play a blinder of a match on his debut. He managed to rack up 108 runs against the Oxford University team and this was by no means the only time he surpassed the magical century threshold. Shepherd was well known for his rotund figure in his later years but he was never exactly thin in his younger active playing days.

Then again, he did rely more on his strength and elegance of placement to score his runs in the form of boundaries than running himself to exhaustion for the odd run or two.

3. After playing cricket for Gloucestershire for roughly fourteen years, David Shepherd would take his first steps into the world of umpiring. In 1981 he made his umpiring debut and incredibly by 1983 made it to the upper echelons of the game by being on the officiating panel for which of the following tournaments?

Answer: World Cup

To make it to the standard of an umpire standing at World Cup matches in approximately two years is quite remarkable. By this point he was already showing himself to be a man of honesty and integrity with regards his decision making and it is said about him that 'he never made a dishonest decision'.

The 1983 Cricket World Cup would be the first of six for umpire David 'Shep' Shepherd. Of those six World Cups, Shepherd would be one of the umpires for the final of the tournament on three occasions! That is quite an honour.

4. Despite David Shepherd being an incredibly good cricket umpire and a very honest man, he still made errors. This was most evident in Shepherd's 56th Test, a match between England and Pakistan, where Shepherd made three critical mistakes. The Test was played in the English city of Manchester, thus, which of the following cricket stadiums did the match take place?

Answer: Old Trafford

Just like the rather famous football (soccer) stadium that is home to Manchester United FC, the cricket stadium in Manchester is named Old Trafford. It was at this venue that David Shepherd, standing in his 56th Test, had an umpiring catastrophe that even made him consider pulling out of the profession entirely. No one doubts Shepherd's honesty in his decisions but to miss three no-ball deliveries (a form of illegal bowl) which all result in wickets is very unfortunate. That being said, there was no harsher critic of Mr.

Shepherd than the man himself and as you'd expect, such a performance was very much a one off.

5. After taking his first steps into the umpiring world by standing in one day international (ODI) matches, David Shepherd found himself calling the shots in some of the biggest Test matches in the sport. After just four years of umpiring, David Shepherd had the honour of being an official in which of the following cricket Test tournaments between England and Australia?

Answer: The Ashes

Quite possibly one of the greatest battles in world sport is that between England and Australia when they compete in the Ashes every other year. The competition, and fierce competition at that, dates back to the late nineteenth century and many memorable moments have been produced since then. One of the great milestones passed in Ashes history was that of Australia's Donald Bradman surpassing the 5,000 runs barrier.

David Shepherd first stood in an Ashes Test match in 1985, for the fourth Test of the series and he was joined by the one and only, Dickie Bird.

6. Cricket umpire David Shepherd was known for a rather amusing idiosyncratic mannerism that was seen when a team managed to accrue a certain number of runs. He would lift one leg off the floor and remain standing on one foot until the batting team managed to get off scores that were 111, 222, 333 and so on. What are these scores known as in the cricket world?

Answer: Nelson

David Shepherd, though others had done it before him, brought the superstitious lifting of one leg off the floor to the international stage and the act is now most closely associated with him. Every time a team would reach a score of 111 exactly or multiples of that number, he would lift his leg and often start hopping to maintain the position until the batting team managed to score again. It is often this superstitious act that many remember umpire Shepherd for and not to forget the crowd absolutely loved it!

The score of 111 would be known as a 'Nelson', 222 a 'double Nelson' and so on.

7. David Shepherd was recognised by many people from around the world as one of the best cricket umpires in the international game. However, was David Shepherd recognised in the form of entry to the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire?

Answer: Yes

Yes, in 1987 cricket umpire David Shepherd was awarded an MBE which is an order of chivalry which stands for 'Member of the Order of the British Empire'. The award was bestowed upon Shepherd, who had the nickname 'Shep', for "his services to cricket".

It seems as though umpiring was a job enjoyed by other members of David Shepherd's family as his father Herbert was an umpire for a local cricket club, the North Devon Cricket Club.

8. Umpire David Shepherd stood in his last Test in June 2005 which was a match between the West Indies and Pakistan. In a show of respect that isn't very often seen between player and official, Shepherd was gifted a cricket bat from which member of the West Indies team?

Answer: Brian Lara

You really don't see situations like that occurring between player and official very often in any sport around the world. This just shows the level of esteem to which David Shepherd was held by the incredible Brian Lara and many other cricket players. After umpiring 92 test matches and 172 one day internationals (ODIs), David Shepherd was to hang up his white coat and hat and retire.

9. Met with sadness by the cricket community, David Shepherd died at the age of 68. His death came as the end of a battle with an illness but of which of the following did Shepherd, given a standing ovation by the crowd after standing in his final international match, die?

Answer: Cancer

David Shepherd joins the endless list of people who were cruelly taken from the world prematurely due to cancer. When the news of Shepherd's death due to lung cancer reached the cricket community there was a mixture of sadness and fondness; an event that made those who watched him umpire over the years remember him with a smile.

10. Many people spoke fondly of umpire David Shepherd when asked about how they felt about one of the friendliest men in world cricket. Which of the following people, and former England cricket captain, said of Shepherd, "...ultimately he was respected because he got a lot of decisions right..."?

Answer: Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan probably summed up David Shepherd better than anybody else from the world of cricket when he said, "Ultimately he was respected because he got a lot of decisions right. He was a nice man who used to say 'Well played or good shot.' You get a lot of umpires these days who feel they're not allowed to say that." He continued, "He liked the odd beer, a pint of ale at the end of play. Again, you wouldn't see that happening too much these days. He will be greatly missed."

For those interested the three players Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Steve Waugh all captained Australia in Test matches.

Source: Author jonnowales

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Dalgleish before going online.
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This quiz looks back at the life and career of the one and only David Shepherd. Sadly, Mr. Shepherd died on October 27, 2009 and will be missed by the cricketing world.

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