Umpire Steve Bucknor’s hurry to raise his finger off-field at the ‘doctoring’ done by TV crews is surprising. The West Indies’ media quote Mr Bucknor as saying that cameramen often edit crucial video clues that would otherwise support the umpire’s decision. Bucknor’s credentials will ensure he’s given a patient hearing. But then that may be just about all that these accusations would achieve. For Mr Bucknor’s outburst comes suspiciously close on the heels of the ICC’s recommendations that teams be allowed to question the umpire’s decision by appealing to the third umpire.
Given Mr Bucknor’s history of confrontations with teams, he must find the suggestion galling. The Indian team in particular will not forget in a hurry how he, standing in his 100th Test, declared a disbelieving Sachin Tendulkar out at 52 after the bat had clearly missed the ball sent down by Abdul Razzaq, and none of the Pakistanis appealed. Mr Bucknor argues that TV umpires could send lbw decisions the way of run-outs, since almost every decision is referred to the third umpire. This is hardly credible coming from an umpire whose decision time is so inordinately long that even if he doesn’t give a batsman out, the uncertainty makes the batsman get out to the next delivery.
It’s inarguable that much more than bowlers’ caps and jumpers weigh down the white-coated gentlemen in the middle. But then umpiring also calls for a fair and astute cricketing sense without which skewed decisions — deliberate or otherwise — become inevitable.