Steve Bucknor - Was he genuinely biased against India?

[Saurav]

Yep that was typical immature bully tactics from a country that wont even produce their own umpire, but just like to attack those with the courage to go and stand in a international game. Something Indian umpires clealy lack.

Bucknor was a very good umpire who started to fail at the end of his career. Considering that Indian cricket was comprised of two great players and a billion sooks until fairly recently, he probably had a subconcious bias against them.

see the clip in the OP.It wasnt towards the end of his career.The guy didn't even refer to the third umpire when others do it when they are even 90% sure


I agree with you though that he was a very good umpire.in non-Indian matches

 

[Romali_rotti]

Steve Bucknor was an amazing umpire when India played Australia, he made sure Australia played with atleast 12 men on the field ...

 

[KPfan]

Bucknor was a horrible umpire along with most of the Sri Lankan and Indian umpires.

 

[pungi]

Seem to recall that India's complete failure to bat out one over from Michael Clarke cost them the match.

thats true..Bucknor might be responsible for India not winning that match, but loosing it was Indian team's comeuppance..You deserve to loose if you can't play out the last over of the test match bowled by Michael Clarke.

 

[Aman]

thats true..Bucknor might be responsible for India not winning that match, but loosing it was Indian team's comeuppance..You deserve to loose if you can't play out the last over of the test match bowled by Michael Clarke.

Clarke has the magic arm

 

[pungi]

the sydney test umpiring was probably the worst piece of umpiring i have ever seen!i mean how many wrong decisions can an umpire give?and no he was not a good umpire at any stage of his career,i really don't know how he made it to the elite panel!

because he always used to suck up to Eng and Australia, thats why you will see those 2 nations defending him no matter what...Stupid fanboys from both countries are jumping around on this thread like headless chicken defending Bucknor when there are video evidences

 

[Wattoo]

Bucknor's 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 has been there from the outset. "I have never been hasty to make decisions," he said. "And, by nature, I like to take my time to do things. Patience is a virtue for me. I don't know how many other umpires believe it's a good way to do it. But I'm happy with the method and hopefully others will also take their time to make important decisions."

 

[Wattoo]

His career could well have been extended further as he was not scheduled to retire until 2011, but in his final years a punishing workload began to take its toll and a few high-profile errors tarnished a previously unblemished reputation - not least his role in misinterpreting the rules regarding bad light, which caused the farcical finish to the World Cup final in April 2007 and led to his suspension for the Twenty20 World Championships in September. Things turned progressively worse in the following months, when he was removed by the ICC from officiating in the third Test between Australia and India in Perth after several contentious decisions contributed to India's defeat in the second Test in Sydney in January 2008.

 

[Wattoo]

"Slow Death Bucknor" umpired in 128 Test matches, more than anyone else. He broke Dickie Bird's record of 66 in 2002, before in March 2005 becoming the first umpire to stand in 100 Tests. Only David Shepherd and Rudi Koertzen have umpired more than his 181 ODIs, while Bucknor also stood in five successive World Cup finals (1992 to 2007), the middle three with Shepherd.

 

[Sidilicious]

How many howlers do you see out of 10 wickets? Point out howlers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7CjptAaT58

I suspect many PPers make this comment here either didn't watch that game or don't really understand the meaning of howlers made by umpires. I didn't watch that game but heard this claim earlier as well. That prompted me to check clips. Claims had no merit.

I will be interested to hear why you think that 10 wickets were gifted.

@ Kiangi - Following is my review of all the 10 wickets. Tell me which one is biased/howler
1. Shahid Afridi - Incorrect decision - The bat hit the pad, which made the umpire think that there was nick. Incorrect decision, but by no means a howler.
2. Ijaz Ahmed - Correct Decision - Ijaz did not connect with a full toss. It was very close and looked like it was heading towards the leg stump.
3. Inzi - Bowled
4. YoYo - Clearly out - The ball straightened and was going to hit the middle. It also clearly hit him in the line of the stumps. Ramiz Raja agreed too.
5. Moin Khan - Caught in the slips. No doubt in that.
6. Saeed Anwar - Caught at short leg. The ball brushed the gloves.
7. Salim Malik - Bowled
8. Mushtaq Ahmed - Caught at slip no doubt about that.
9. Saqlain Mushtaq - Clearly out - LBW. Hit him in line with the stump (you could see the off stump), and then straightened. Not a shadow of doubt.
10. Wasim Akram - Caught at short leg. Came off the bat.

So, out 10 dismissals, only 1 was not out. Even that was not a howler since the bat brushed the pad creating the sound.

You cannot call that biased or poor umpiring.

 

[siddharth]

The biggest mistake he did was ''refusing to check with third umpire for a very close stumping appeal''.Well umpires can make mistakes,acceptable..However that decision was unacceptable and downright ridiculous..thats unadultered bias there.There was simply no other explanation..

 

[MenInG]

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Hmm - Nasser Hussain not amused!

 

[FreePalestine]

you could make a 3 hour movie out of Bucknor's biased umpiring against India, and even then you will have enough left to come up with a second series for that movie..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2dEPTKT40g

I remember watching this live - it was a horrible decision! But as far as I can remember Bucknor was pretty old at this stage and wasn’t as accurate as he used to be... maybe I am wrong?

I had no idea Indians thought Bucknor was biased against them. Is it all based on this horrible decision or were there other instances? If just this one, then I do not think he was biased, just old.

The most biased umpire was Darrell Hair, though he mostly expressed his bias by accusing asian teams of chucking or ball tampering.

 

[Saurav]

I remember watching this live - it was a horrible decision! But as far as I can remember Bucknor was pretty old at this stage and wasn’t as accurate as he used to be... maybe I am wrong?

I had no idea Indians thought Bucknor was biased against them. Is it all based on this horrible decision or were there other instances? If just this one, then I do not think he was biased, just old.

The most biased umpire was Darrell Hair, though he mostly expressed his bias by accusing asian teams of chucking or ball tampering.

There's whole Sydney Test. And many other decisions

 

[Ab Fan]

Yes, he was.

 

[MenInG]

Bengaluru: Steve Bucknor is remembered in India for all the wrong reasons. The former West Indian umpire made headlines in the country for his controversial decisions. But, an Indian who shared umpiring duties and interacted with him, describes the Jamaican as one of the best in the business and dismissed all those claims of him being against Indian cricketers.

Bucknor, who celebrated his 74th birthday last month (May 31), is one of the most-hated cricket umpires in India. He gave a shocking LBW decision against batting legend Sachin Tendulkar in a Test in Australia in 2003 and was also the man who stood in the controversial Sydney contest in 2008.

Former Indian Test umpire AV Jayaprakash, who stood with Bucknor in international matches including the historic Test in Delhi in 1999 when Anil Kumble took all 10 wickets in an innings against Pakistan, opened up about Bucknor as an umpire.

In an exclusive interview with Asianet Newsable, Jayaprakash praised Bucknor, who retired in 2009, for helping him in his international umpiring career and supporting youngsters who wanted to take up umpiring.

“I have officiated international matches with Steve Bucknor. One thing I can confidently say is, he is not against Indians. Mistakes do happen,” Jayaprakash told Asianet Newsable when asked about Bucknor and controversies with Indians.

“Bucknor was criticised and made headlines in India because he gave Sachin Tendulkar out (2003). Also, a lot of things (Monkeygate) happened when he officiated the Sydney Test between India and Australia in 2008,” Jayaprakash, who stood in 13 Tess and 38 ODIs, added.

Bucknor officiated in a then world record 128 Tests, and 181 ODIs. His Test milestone was broken by Pakistan’s Aleem Dar. Bucknor made his umpiring Test debut in 1989. He stood in five consecutive World Cup finals (1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007), and he has also officiated in a football World Cup qualifier.

In 2003, Tendulkar shouldered his arms to a delivery from Australian paceman Jason Gillespie and the Master Blaster was hit on his pad. He was shocked when Bucknor raised the finger following an appeal from the Australians. On air, TV commentator Tony Greig called it “a dreadful decision”. The ball was going over the stumps, as revealed by the TV replays.

Not only India, the entire cricket world was stunned after witnessing Bucknor’s horrendous decisions at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in 2008.

The current Indian coach Ravi Shastri, who was commentating on that match, had said on air, after one of his shocking decisions, “He (Bucknor) is past his sell-by-date. It is time to retire. ICC cannot go by past reputations”. After his poor performance in Sydney and a barrage of criticism, ICC removed him from the next Test in Perth, which India won.

However, Jayaprakash doesn’t back such a move of sacking umpires in the middle of the series. Recalling his job interview with the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2008, Jayaprakash spoke about how the sport’s world governing body was impressed with his answer.

“In 2008, after I quit umpiring, I was called for the umpires’ manager (coach) job interview by the ICC. One of the questions asked was ‘Do you think an umpire should be sent back (in the middle of the series) if he has had a bad game?’. I told ICC that he should not be removed from umpiring duties. I explained that an umpire works very hard for so many years to get into the ICC panel and sometimes decisions do go wrong. The case is same with Steve Bucknor, he umpired in over 100 Test matches. He could not have been there without being on top of his game,” the 70-year-old said.

He also said there was a time when every team wanted Bucknor for matches because he was a top-quality umpire.

“He was a top umpire. Everybody wanted him to officiate. However, during the final stages of his career, he may have got some incorrect decisions. He himself has to say what went wrong with him,” Jayaprakash said.

Jayaprakash said he had suggested to the ICC on the importance of talking to match officials and addressing their personal problems, if any.

“It is important for the ICC to take the umpires into confidence, talk to them about their personal issues which may affect their on-field performances. Through this, ICC can make them better umpires,” he said.

Stating that Bucknor loved to shop a lot, Jayaprakash said he has a lot of respect for him. “Off the field, one thing I noticed was, he (Bucknor) used to shop a lot. I have a lot of respect for him. He was the one who put me on to ICC and backed me. He did this as a recognition of talent, not for friendship. He always wanted good umpires to come up.”

Jayaprakash feels umpires are always remembered for bad decisions. “Umpiring is a thankless job. We are remembered for bad decisions. If an umpire is not mentioned in the media then we feel we have done a good job.”

https://newsable.asianetnews.com/cr...ot-against-indians-says-av-jayaprakash-qc24jc

 

[MenInG]

Steve Bucknor, one of the most high-profile umpires in cricket’s recent history, has talked about two mistakes he made against Sachin Tendulkar.

Eleven years after his retirement, Bucknor recalled on the Mason and Guests radio programme in Barbados earlier this week: “Tendulkar was given out on two different occasions when those were mistakes. I do not think any umpire would want to do a wrong thing. It lives with him and his future could be jeopardised.”

“To err is human…Once in Australia, I gave him out leg before wicket and the ball was going over the top. Another time, in India it was caught behind. The ball deviated after passing the bat but there was no touch. But the match was at Eden Gardens and when you are at the Eden and India is batting, you hear nothing. Because 100,000 spectators are making noise. Those were the mistakes and I was unhappy. I am saying a human is going to make mistakes and accepting mistakes are part of life,” Bucknor said.

Bucknor, settled in New York since his retirement, also said Sachin’s greatness lay in the fact that he could accumulate shots because he had all the shots in his inventory.

Talking about the best batsmen he has seen, Bucknor, however, rated Brian Lara, who he called ‘poetry in motion’, ahead of Tendulkar.

Tendulkar’s run-ins with Bucknor have been well-chronicled. In 2019, ICC’s Twitter handle had jokingly responded to a post by Sachin Tendulkar, with a video of him bowling, with a meme featuring Steve Bucknor signalling a no-ball. “At least this time I am bowling and not batting.. umpire’s decision is always the final decision,” Tendulkar had replied.

https://indianexpress.com/article/s...steve-bucknor-umpire-wrong-decisions-6468597/

 

[MenInG]

The India vs Australia Test match at Sydney in 2008 would perhaps go down as one of the most controversial Test matches between the two countries. Cricket took backstage with the Test match revolving around the controversial umpiring decisions by Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson and the ‘monkeygate’ scandal between India’s Harbhajan Singh and Australia’s Andrew Symonds.

12 years after that Test match, which Australia won in dramatic fashion in the dying hours of Day 5, umpire Steve Bucknor agreed that his two mistakes might have cost India the Sydney Test.

“I made two mistakes in the Sydney Test in 2008,” Bucknor told Midday.

“Mistake one, which happened when India were doing well, allowed an Australian batsman to get a hundred. Mistake two, on Day Five, might have cost India the game. But still, they are two mistakes over five days. Was I the first umpire to make two mistakes in a Test? Still, those two mistakes seem to have haunted me,” Bucknor added.

The West Indian umpire was referring to his decision on Day 1 of the Test match that allowed Andrew Symonds a life. Australia were tottering at 135 for six when Symonds and Brad Hogg had just started to build a partnership.

India’s Ishant Sharma found the inside edge of Symond’s bat when the all-rounder was batting at 30 but Bucknor ruled it as not out.

Symonds, later on, survived another stumping appeal which could have gone either way. He rode his luck to slam 160 as Australia posted 463. In reply, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman hit centuries as India took a 69-run lead.

Australia set India 333-run target on Day 5 with only 72 overs of play remaining. India were recovering from a poor start with Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly stitching a good partnership before the former was given out caught for 38 in the 34th over off Andrew Symonds’ bowling by Steve Bucknor. Replays showed there was no bat involved, the ball had actually gone off Dravid’s pads. This Bucknor referred as his ‘second mistake’ which he believed might have ‘cost India the Test match’.

Ganguly too fell to a controversial umpiring decision but MS Dhoni and Anil Kumble had managed to take India deep. After Dhoni’s dismissal, India’s tail could not wag as Michael Clarke took three wickets in one over to seal a 122-run win.

“You need to know why mistakes are made. You don’t want to make similar mistakes again. I am not giving excuses but there are times when the wind is blowing down the pitch and the sound travels with the wind. The commentators hear the nick from the stump mic but the umpires may not be sure. These are things spectators won’t know,” Bucknor added.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...est-in-2008/story-jTL5U28QEwNxfMqJB755HI.html

 

[MP2011]

So he finally admits it.

We could have had a series win in Australia a decade earlier than we eventually did. Or at our worst, we could have at least drawn that series.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Bucknor may have been a ***** umpire but the real issue was mark benson. He took Ponting's word for a catch and made a decision which was completely unacceptable. As if, that Australian team, as great as they were, could be trusted to play with 100 % integrity.

 

[therealAB]

No he was not biased vs India. Have you seen his decisions in the England, India tests of 2007?
He was just a rubbish umpire

 

[Ab Fan]

The India vs Australia Test match at Sydney in 2008 would perhaps go down as one of the most controversial Test matches between the two countries. Cricket took backstage with the Test match revolving around the controversial umpiring decisions by Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson and the ‘monkeygate’ scandal between India’s Harbhajan Singh and Australia’s Andrew Symonds.

12 years after that Test match, which Australia won in dramatic fashion in the dying hours of Day 5, umpire Steve Bucknor agreed that his two mistakes might have cost India the Sydney Test.

“I made two mistakes in the Sydney Test in 2008,” Bucknor told Midday.

“Mistake one, which happened when India were doing well, allowed an Australian batsman to get a hundred. Mistake two, on Day Five, might have cost India the game. But still, they are two mistakes over five days. Was I the first umpire to make two mistakes in a Test? Still, those two mistakes seem to have haunted me,” Bucknor added.

The West Indian umpire was referring to his decision on Day 1 of the Test match that allowed Andrew Symonds a life. Australia were tottering at 135 for six when Symonds and Brad Hogg had just started to build a partnership.

India’s Ishant Sharma found the inside edge of Symond’s bat when the all-rounder was batting at 30 but Bucknor ruled it as not out.

Symonds, later on, survived another stumping appeal which could have gone either way. He rode his luck to slam 160 as Australia posted 463. In reply, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman hit centuries as India took a 69-run lead.

Australia set India 333-run target on Day 5 with only 72 overs of play remaining. India were recovering from a poor start with Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly stitching a good partnership before the former was given out caught for 38 in the 34th over off Andrew Symonds’ bowling by Steve Bucknor. Replays showed there was no bat involved, the ball had actually gone off Dravid’s pads. This Bucknor referred as his ‘second mistake’ which he believed might have ‘cost India the Test match’.

Ganguly too fell to a controversial umpiring decision but MS Dhoni and Anil Kumble had managed to take India deep. After Dhoni’s dismissal, India’s tail could not wag as Michael Clarke took three wickets in one over to seal a 122-run win.

“You need to know why mistakes are made. You don’t want to make similar mistakes again. I am not giving excuses but there are times when the wind is blowing down the pitch and the sound travels with the wind. The commentators hear the nick from the stump mic but the umpires may not be sure. These are things spectators won’t know,” Bucknor added.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...est-in-2008/story-jTL5U28QEwNxfMqJB755HI.html

It was not exactly 2 mistakes. There were total 7 mistakes all-in-all in that test. Bucknor mistaken about 4 of them I think but anyways that is past. Good that we have DRS now.

 

[MenInG]

Irfan Pathan is not pleased with Steve Bucknor despite the former ICC umpire’s acceptance of the errors he committed during the 2008 Sydney Test between India and Australia. Bucknor made as many as seven mistakes in the match, which created controversy for biased umpiring and cost India the Test by 122 runs. The biggest howler of the match was Bucknor refusing to give Andrew Symonds out caught behind when the batsman was on 30. Symonds went on to score 162 which gave Australia the momentum.

Nearly 12 years have passed but the wounds of that Test match are fresh for Pathan. Bucknor, in an interview with Mid-Day last week, acknowledged his mistakes but former all-rounder Pathan wasn’t having any of it.

Also Read | Allowed an Australian to score a century: Steve Bucknor admits his ‘two mistakes’ might have ‘cost’ India the Sydney Test in 2008

“No matter how much you accept your mistakes, what’s done is done, we lost the Test match. I remember, I played my first Test in Australia – that was in Adelaide, my debut game [in 2003] – and we won that Test after 21 [22] years in Australia. And losing a Test match, just because of umpiring errors? Not going to make any difference, no matter what umpires say now,” Pathan said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.

“As a cricketer, we’re used to getting bad decisions, sometimes in our bowling, sometimes in our batting. And we get frustrated by that and then we forget about it. But this Sydney Test match, it was not just one mistake. There were about seven mistakes that cost us the game. There were mistakes where Andrew Symonds was playing, and he got out nearly, I remember, three times, and the umpire didn’t give him out.”

The Sydney Test also made headlines for the infamous Monkeygate episode between Symonds and India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. The loss was even more hurtful because had it not been for poor umpiring, India were in a strong position to win the Test and the series that finished with Australia winning 2-1, could have ended in a draw. The poor standard of umpiring left a bad taste in the audiences’ mouth and India were also reportedly ready to terminate the series mid-way and return home. However, India, under Anil Kumble, carried on and roared back to win the next Test in Perth.

“He was the Man of the Match, we lost by 122 runs. If only one decision against Andrew Symonds would have been corrected, we would have won that game easily,” Pathan said. “It was not just frustration. For the first time, I saw Indian cricketers were angry. Fans had only one thing in mind – that they [umpires] were doing it purposely. Obviously, as a cricketer, we can’t think like that.

“We’ve to think, ‘OK. These things happen, and we’ve to move forward’. But seven mistakes? Are you kidding me? That was unbelievable and indigestible for us.”

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...sydney-test/story-zL6AqPQiE2nmC0ebEPjcWK.html

 

[MenInG]

75 years old today -

What sort if legacy has he left behind?

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

I don’t think he was biased against India. He gave many wrong decisions in favour of india as well.

 

[Hitman]

Happy Birthday. Was horrible during the last phase of his career. I consider him incompetent rather than biased.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Old umpires were stubborn and had extremely parochial attitudes. Cricket used to respect its umpires way too much because it was the done thing back then. It was only when the likes of Simon Taufel came around that we had younger , professional umpires.

 

[Devadwal]

He is biggest cheater of the game . india lost Sydney test due to him . idiot

 

[Markhor]

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Bucknor was a bit of an equal opportunity offender - sometimes you could tell he knew he goofed up when he wouldn't look the batsmen in the eye as he'd give them out

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

He is biggest cheater of the game . india lost Sydney test due to him . idiot

And England lost Test series against India in 2007 because of him. Your point being? He was not a cheater he was just an inept umpire.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Happy birthday to him.

One of the worst umpires to ever officiate in cricket matches. Shocking how ICC let him carry on with his arrogant umpiring for so long. Most of his bad decisions seemed rather intentional. He was never sorry about any of them.

 

[Ab Fan]

No surprises that Indian fans are still bitter about Sydney test. There were as many as 7 decisions going against India in that test and the honours were shared by Bucknor and Benson both. It was pretty hard to digest the numerous wrong decisions they kept giving over the course of five days, still bitter about that test.

However, the worst ever single umpiring decision that I ever saw was when Daryl Harper gave Tendulkar out 'shoulder before wicket' in 1999 in Australia.

 

[Saj]

I always thought he was overrated as an umpire.

He was ok, but he made a lot of errors over the years and had a schoolmaster approach to players from some teams.