Steve Bucknor made his umpiring debut against India in Kingston in the '89 series and finally bowed out after his 128th and last at Cape Town today .
He will be remembered for his slow painful finger of death and the nod
Indian fans will never forget or forgive him from the reprieve Jonty Rhodes got in an obvious run out which he adamantly refused to refer to the third umpire in joburg in 1992 , to the infamous Sydney test of 2007 which was his nadir and he was referred to at least in India as "the bungler" .
And for some reason he was particularly harsh on Indian players like Dravid and Parthiv Patel and had a poor sense of humor.
Nevertheless Steve Bucknor was accorded a rapturous applause and a public memento and presentation from the full house in Eden Gardens in 2005 on his 100th test and promptly blotted his book again by giving Tendulkar caught behind which even had Abdul Razzaq incredulous since he had'nt appealed.
Great umpires like Dicky Bird and Venkat retired when they still had a few years left - Bucknor definitely overstayed .
Also umpires Like Dicky was always renowned for his humility and ability to aplogise publicly for wrong decisions like the time Viv Richards was given wrongly LBW in a test in 1984 - the fans always loved his quirks and human element.
I for one feel he was a decent umpire till at least 2002 , too officious and was way past his "use by" date..
would be interesting to read his autobiography if it were to come out - nevertheless this is an acknowledgement of his longevity.
He will be remembered for his slow painful finger of death and the nod
Indian fans will never forget or forgive him from the reprieve Jonty Rhodes got in an obvious run out which he adamantly refused to refer to the third umpire in joburg in 1992 , to the infamous Sydney test of 2007 which was his nadir and he was referred to at least in India as "the bungler" .
And for some reason he was particularly harsh on Indian players like Dravid and Parthiv Patel and had a poor sense of humor.
Nevertheless Steve Bucknor was accorded a rapturous applause and a public memento and presentation from the full house in Eden Gardens in 2005 on his 100th test and promptly blotted his book again by giving Tendulkar caught behind which even had Abdul Razzaq incredulous since he had'nt appealed.
Great umpires like Dicky Bird and Venkat retired when they still had a few years left - Bucknor definitely overstayed .
Also umpires Like Dicky was always renowned for his humility and ability to aplogise publicly for wrong decisions like the time Viv Richards was given wrongly LBW in a test in 1984 - the fans always loved his quirks and human element.
I for one feel he was a decent umpire till at least 2002 , too officious and was way past his "use by" date..
would be interesting to read his autobiography if it were to come out - nevertheless this is an acknowledgement of his longevity.
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