'Shep', who passed away at the age of 68 after losing his battle with cancer, enjoyed a successful playing career with Gloucestershire before becoming a hugely respected international umpire. And he will forever be remembered for his gentle hop or lifting of his leg whenever the score reached 'Nelson' - 111 and multiples of it - to ward off any bad luck for the batsmen.

He stood in 92 Test matches and 172 one-day internationals before retiring in 2005. But after moving back to his home in Devon he was soon diagnosed with cancer. "I feel very saddened this has happened," said Dickie Bird who stood with him in his first Test match in 1985. "Shep was a good bloke, he'll be sadly missed and he was a great friend.

This file picture taken on June 7, 2005 in Jamaica shows Umpire David Shepherd (L), on his final test match, receiving a bat with signatures from West Indies batsman Brian Lara (R). AFP

"I worked with him in his first Test, an Ashes match, and I knew straight away that he would be a good umpire and I was proved right. "He wouldn't stand any nonsense and never let you down out in the middle. We didn't have many problems when we worked together, he was a great man to umpire with."

Sir Ian Botham added: "He will be sorely missed by the game and all who knew him because he was such a genuine and lovely man. "He was one of Devon's finest sons and it was always an absolute pleasure to be umpired by him. He was accurate, he was fair and you could talk to him which is everything you could possibly want from an umpire."

Shepherd's love for the game came through time and again on and off the field, and although players and crowds alike would enjoy his onelegged moments with the good humour intended, he was very serious about his job.

Before that though he was a player of distinction. Although he was a dyed-in-the-wool Devonian, he played 282 first class games for Gloucestershire, scoring more than 10,000 runs for them over 14 years.
When his playing days were over he became an umpire in 1981 and from there he rose to the top of the tree, standing in three successive World Cup finals in 1996, 1999 and 2003.

Former England captain Tony Lewis said: "I played in Shep's first county match in 1965 against Glamorgan and I remember him as a dangerous player with the bat. "He was a delightful man and with the great friendship between the two counties we had many a pint together after a match. Shep was a solid guy with a great mind for the game so it was no surprise that he proved a class apart as an umpire.

"He loved the game and he understood the players. He was very firm in his handling of things, but a smile was never far away because he preferred to talk to players." He continued his relationship with the game by joining the MCC world cricket committee which contains some of the game's best known former players.

And as chairman Lewis added: "Right up until his death he was contributing to the game with the MCC world cricket committee. "He was the perfect man to have alongside all the great players such as Steve Waugh and Courtney Walsh, offering the view of a great umpire.

"He always looked to advance the game but not if it meant any damage to the game he loved."
Mirror Co. UK