Bucknor should consider himself fortunate the BCCI did not press for his being outlawed from ICC's Elite panel of umpires
Bucknor should consider himself fortunate the BCCI did not press for his being outlawed from ICC's Elite panel of umpires
ICC Test umpire Steve Bucknor's belated outburst alleging that India succeeded in having him sacked from a Test match in Perth because of BCCI's "financial might" is nothing if not a case of the pot calling the kettle black (racist pun not intended).
Considering his abysmal performance in the acrimonious second Test at Sydney, which was largely instrumental in India's defeat and almost torpedoed the rest of the series, Bucknor should consider himself fortunate that his own career was not aborted at that notorious moment of crisis in world cricket.
The 62-year old Jamaican goes on to add that "some people are more equal than others".
Bucknor's overall performance in the January 2008 Test led to Indian captain Anil Kumble filing a negative report on the umpire and the Indian team threatening to return home from the tour.
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"I got better than 94 per cent in that particular game," Bucknor says, going on to allege, "but it wasn't good enough for some people. So I was expecting these things to happen because on Earth... there are some people who are more equal than others."
The 2007-08 Indian tour of Australia erupted when Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh was accused of calling Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds a "monkey" during the Test. The Indian team threatened to return home before Singh was cleared and Bucknor was dropped from the panel for the Perth Test.
Reflecting on an otherwise distinguished 20-year old career spanning 128 Tests (including the forthcoming one at Cape Town), Bucknor said: "I have survived for a long time. Had it not been for strong-willed people I would have been out due to negative reactions from certain quarters.
Casting aspersions on the integrity of former Indian captain Anil Kumble, Bucknor said: "When you speak to a captain and he's not happy you are reported.
"If his (national) association is strong enough, they may believe that they should take action.
"Because they are more equal, they seem to have more say. And what they say, especially influenced by money, they seem to have their way."
(With inputs from agency reports)
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