The umpire who did not regret making mistakes
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He may not be the most popular man in India where the feeling in cricketing circles is that he has been allowed to carry on as a member of the ICC Elite Panel for far too long.
Over the years, the retiring Steve Bucknor has made mistakes like any other umpire. But Sydney 2008 was the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back and Indian fans could take it no longer. He came in for sharp criticism and the Indian Cricket Board in fact had Bucknor removed from the next Test where he was scheduled to officiate.
In a recent interview, Bucknor lamented that the BCCI used their money power in ousting him and while there may be a grain of truth in the allegation, it was out of sync for a man who has a gentle and philosophical aura about him.
In an interview on the eve of his farewell Test at Cape Town, while admitting that he made mistakes and ``it is a part of life’’, he added that in the final analysis it all depended on one’s attitude.
``I do not regret making mistakes because if I regret making mistakes then I am going to regret being a human being.’’
That’s what all of us should be saying I suppose, for as the adage goes to err is human.
Bucknor’s view is that if the umpire is correct 95% of the time it should be okay, for that means getting 19 out of 20 decisions correct.
``We of course try our best to be correct every time but there are occasions when things happen that you don't see, you don't know, and mistakes are made,’’ he said.
But one is sure there will be no bitterness as the 62-year-old Bucknor takes his bow.
Ultimately, it will be a philosophical Bucknor who will leave international cricket after two decades.
It was typical of Bucknor, a devout Christian who reads from the Bible every morning, to kneel on the pitch and offer a prayer moments after South Africa won the third Test at Cape Town, a touching gesture that highlighted his humility.
Bucknor’s final appearances will be in the ODIs between the West Indies and England on March 27 and 29.
Since 1994, when the neutral umpire system was introduced and the ICC established an international panel, the tall and amiable official has been more or less permanently on the road.
The just concluded South Africa—Australia Test at Cape Town was Bucknor’s 128th and he has also stood in 179 ODIs - more than any other umpire save Shepherd and Rudi Koertzen. He has been on the ICC Elite Panel since 2002.
The ICC has already announced that it would pay a special tribute to Bucknor after his final match.
Chief executive Haroon Lorgat has said that Bucknor’s contribution to the sport over two decades at the top level of umpiring has been immense. "To have remained as one of the game's top officials for that length of time has required Steve to be self-motivated, confident and well respected, and he has all those qualities in abundance.’’
During his long career, he has invariably given many good decisions and it is unfortunate that his mistakes have come under the microscope.
Overall, though, there is no doubt that he has been a widely respected and instantly recognisable figure around the cricketing world famous for his characteristic gesture of nodding gently before raising the dreaded finger.
Known as ``Slow Death Bucknor’’, for his hesitation after an appeal, he clarified in a recent interview that he hesitates not to make the batsman sweat but because he looks for every possible justification to give the batsman a reprieve.
The only umpire to officiate in over 100 Tests, Bucknor has stood in five successive World Cup finals (1992 to 2007), the middle three with his good friend David Shepherd.
His original conversion to umpiring was due in part to his own playing experience in his native Montego Bay, where repeatedly incorrect decisions prompted him to don the white coat in the cause of fairness.
The habit of taking his time before raising his finger has been there from the outset. "I have never been hasty in making decisions," he has said. Patience has certainly been his biggest virtue.
It was in a match involving India that Bucknor made his debut. This was the fourth and final Test against West Indies at Kingston in 1989.
His rise thereafter was pretty rapid.
His appointment for the 1992 final followed just four Tests and a handful of ODIs.
Tall (well over six feet) Bucknor has a commanding view of the proceedings. Interestingly, he has been a football referee and has even stood in a World Cup qualifier.
While announcing his retirement, Bucknor said that the body was feeling quite good and he knew he could go on for another couple of years. Indeed, he was scheduled to retire only in 2011. But as he put it ``Something inside me is telling me that it is time to go.’’
He is now looking forward to help improve the standard of umpiring in the Caribbean.
Bucknor will certainly be remembered as one of the game’s characters even if he will not be regarded with particular affection in India.
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