Shepherd turns down Lord's swansong

David Shepherd has turned down the chance to make his umpiring swansong at Lord's.

The ICC said they were prepared to seek special dispensation for Shepherd, 64, to stand in the first Ashes Test which starts on July 21st, but he had already announced his retirement at the end of the second Test between West Indies and Pakistan last month - and he says he is sticking to that decision.

The ICC would have needed to gain clearance for Shepherd to stand as otherwise, being English, he wouldn't have qualified under the neutral umpire rule. But Shepherd was adamant. "His decision was unerring," the ICC's chief executive Malcolm Speed explained.

"He said there would be too much fuss and he would prefer to go quietly. No umpire of recent times has proved to be a greater embodiment of the spirit of cricket than David Shepherd. His assured presence in the middle will be missed."