THE Dickie Bird statue, wrapped against the weather, arrived in Barnsley on Sunday.

It came on a lorry from the foundry in London and was lowered by a small crane into place on the plinth near St Mary's Parish Church.

The statue was already wrapped in cloth on arrival, though there was no mistaking the shape of the cap underneath and a bronze finger protruding through the material.

He was given a further 'coat' of plastic and then a metal fence was put round the site ready for the ceremony next week.

The £70,000 bronze sculpture, by Barnsley artist Graham Ibbeson, will be unveiled by Dickie next Tuesday.

As it was lowered into place, Dickie said: "I have achieved almost everything there is to achieve in the game, but this is the icing on the cake.

"My father would have been so proud. The statue is on the site of the house where I lived as a child.

"My father would arrive home from the pit, get bathed in a tin bath in front of the fire and then we would go to the park over the wall and play cricket in St Mary's garden."

Graham said: "I think it is the best portraiture I have done. Not necessarily the best statue but the best live subject."

Dickie is portrayed standing with his finger in the air as if he has just given someone out. He was supposed to be pointing towards Shaw Lane, where he started his cricket career, but he is slightly out of position because the council expect that visitors will want to take photographs and the sun will be behind them.