Keith Dibb is the oldest judge in Britain. He is back for his 72nd season and has no plans to stop any time soon. Since he started refereeing in 1952, the 88-year-old has had an amazing career. Dibb has been a referee for 1,000 games and is still going strong, even though he has to stand at the wickets for up to six hours during games.
Keith Dibb used to be a medium bowler. When he was 13, he joined a team in North Yorkshire, where he grew up. He became an umpire in 1952 because he was 11th in the batting order. Since then, he hasn’t missed a cricket season. After he finished playing at 47, he took on the job full-time. Even though he is old, he is still going strong.
“I don’t worry about getting hit by the ball because I can still move pretty fast. “I’m insured for £15,000 with the English Cricket Board, so they’ve given me their approval,” Dibb told The Mirror.
Dibb said that when he first started playing wicket for the Hawksworth Cricket Club in Leeds, he had to clean up a cowpat before they could start playing.
“We started in a field, and there were cows in the corner, so we had to move them out of the way before we could play. I had a bucket and a shovel, so I moved the cowpat out of the way so we could play,” he said.
His late wife Margaret, who died at age 59, used to make tea at the same club. Their children, Nigel, 56, and Wendy, 54, learned to play the game when they were young.
Keith Dibb is friends with Dickie Bird
Debb said that his wife didn’t want their son to play cricket when he was talking about her.
“When my son was born, my wife told me, ‘Don’t get him into cricket. But he would always play with a toy bat and follow me around when I played. My daughter played cricket all the time. Her father and brother were playing together while her mother was making tea. She didn’t want to be left out, so she joined a team for women in the end,” he said.
Keith Dibb even got to know the famous England referee, Dickie Bird and went to Headingley Stadium in April for his 90th birthday party. 15 years ago, they met at the Retford Gala in Nottinghamshire. They became friends when Keith offered to drive him home.
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