Steve Bucknor

Steve Bucknor

Personal information
Full name	Stephen Anthony Bucknor
Nickname	Slow Death
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Umpiring information
Tests umpired	123 (1989–present)
ODIs umpired	172 (1989–present)
Career statistics
Source: Cricinfo, 23 April 2008

The Honourable Stephen Anthony Bucknor OJ, also known as Steve Bucknor, is an international cricket umpire. He was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 31 May 1946. He became a high school mathematics teacher and sports coach, before going on to be one of Jamaica's leading sports officials as an international football referee and more famously as an outstanding cricket umpire. In October 2007 he was awarded the Order of Jamaica, Commander Class, for "outstanding services in the field of sports".

Cricket Umpire

Bucknor's first international cricket fixture was a One Day International (ODI) between the West Indies and India at Antigua on March 18, 1989. His first Test match was at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, between April 28 and May 3, 1989, with the competing teams again being the West Indies and India. After umpiring in a few international matches, he was selected to umpire at the 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australasia, and went on to stand in the final despite being quite inexperienced. Bucknor also stood in the next four World Cup finals in 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007, with the 2007 World Cup taking place in his native West Indies.

In 1994 the ICC introduced a policy whereby one of the umpires in each Test match would be independent of the competing nations, selected from the International Panel of Umpires. Bucknor was a member of this panel from its foundation until the ICC changed its policy on umpires again in 2002. Since then both umpires in Test matches, and one of the umpires in ODI's have been independent of the competing countries. The officials are now chosen from the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, which is widely thought to contain the world's best umpires. Bucknor has maintained a place on the Elite Panel since its foundation.

Bucknor is known for taking a long time to consider LBW appeals before giving a decision.

Achievements as an Umpire

Cricket World Cup

Bucknor has stood as an onfield umpire in five World Cup tournaments, during which he has officiated 44 matches including a record five finals.

Test Match Record

Bucknor holds the record for the most Test matches umpired, and is so far the only umpire to have officiated in over 100 Test matches. He has stood in 14 Ashes Test matches and officiated in Bangladesh's first ever Test match.

One Day Internationals

Bucknor has officiated in the second highest number of ODI's, with Rudi Koertzen the only umpire to have stood in more ODI's.

Awards

Bucknor has received the ICC's Bronze Bails awards for umpiring in 100 ODI's, as well as the Gold Bails award for umpiring 100 Test matches.

Controversy

Bucknor's reputation has been damaged by controversial moments in recent years. He was widely criticised for a series of incorrect decisions during India's tour of Australia in 2003-04.. The BCCI also alleged Bucknor mimicked Rahul Dravid, who had been charged with ball tampering. Consequently the BCCI lodged a formal complaint with the ICC.

In May 2006, he accused TV companies of doctoring their images to make umpires look bad. He was one of the officials, along with Aleem Dar, Rudi Koertzen, Billy Bowden and referee Jeff Crowe, responsible for the finish to the 2007 World Cup final, which finished in poor light. Consequently, all five officials were suspended from the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa.. On several occasions, Bucknor has also chosen not to refer decisions to the third umpire and has later been shown to be wrong. Most notable among these were his decisions in 1992-93 to rule Jonty Rhodes not run-out, in the first series to have the third umpire available, and in 2008 to rule Andrew Symonds not out stumped.. Both players went on to play match-winning innings.

However, Dave Richardson, the general manager of cricket at the ICC, Bucknor's employer, indicated that his umpiring accuracy was 96% in 2005-06, which was above the average of 94.8% for the Elite Panel as a whole. The definition of umpiring accuracy and the methodology used to determine the accuracy was not released by the ICC. In 2007, he was short-listed for the Umpire of the Year award, which was ultimately won by Simon Taufel.

During India tour to Australia in 2007-08, Bucknor received severe criticism for his umpiring in the Sydney Test match, most notably his decisions to declare Andrew Symonds not out twice in the 1st innings and to give Rahul Dravid out in the final innings. To alleviate escalating tension in the series, in an unprecedented move, the ICC replaced Bucknor with Billy Bowden for the third Test match at Perth. In the wake of the Sydney Test, former umpire Dickie Bird suggested that Bucknor had "gone on too long".

International Umpiring Statistics

Match Record

	First	Last	Total
Tests	West Indies v India at Kingston, Apr 1989	England v New Zealand at Lord's, May 2008	123
ODIs	West Indies v India at St. John's, Mar 1989	Pakistan v Bangladesh at Karachi, Apr 2008	172

Forthcoming International Appointments

Team 1	Team 2	Match	Date	Venue
England	New Zealand	3rd Test	5-9 June	Trent Bridge

Football Referee

Bucknor was a FIFA referee in the World Cup qualifier between El Salvador and the Netherlands Antilles in 1988. Soon after this, Bucknor had to retire from football refereeing because the FIFA age limit for referees was lowered to 45. However, this allowed him to pursue his career as a cricket umpire.

Bucknor the Goalkeeper

Bucknor played as a goalkeeper in Jamaican parish leagues in the 1960's. In 1964 he played in goal for Jamaica in a schoolboy international versus Brazil, which Jamaica drew 1-1.

Further reading

• Silvera, Janet. (October 7, 2007) Jamaica Gleaner Howzat? Firm decisions make Bucknor a hit.

External links

• Steve Bucknor Profile on Cricinfo website.
• Main page of Elite Panel.