Man Of Quiet Dignity

There is a school of thought that believes the days of cricket umpires arenumbered. Thetheory has been gaining credence following Dicky Bird's sweeping statement thatthe umpire is "dead", a la post-structuralist proclamation that theauthor is "dead"!

They may have been influenced by the miracles of modern technology thathave made a big impact and brought about some noticeable changes in almost alldisciplines over the last several years, but can you really imagine cricket withoutumpires?

The answer, of course, cannot be in the affirmative. Cricket today may not bewhat it was even in the immediate post-Packer era. But it cannot dispense withthe men in white coats.

Not yet. "I don't think umpires will ever be replaced. Even iftechnology is used the way people say it ought to be, reducing those on thefield to merely counting the number of deliveries, you will need top umpires tosit in front of a television screen. I honestly don't think cricket will go thatfar," emphasises Steve Bucknor.

Cricket umpiring may be a seemingly tedious job as it calls for a lot ofconcentration and patience but it is by no means an easy task, specially in themodern age in which every decision, every move is caught on the candidtelevision camera and watched and scrutinised by millions of armchair criticsthe world over.

On the contrary, it is a more complicated "operation" than"flying a jet aeroplane" or fully understanding the"idiosyncrasies" of a computer, to borrow a couple of phrases fromGordon Ross, one of the few lyrical cricket writers.

Umpiring is actually a scientific work but umpires call it a thankless job,albeit for plenty of reasons. Most people regard umpires not more than anecessary appendage; "part of the furniture, not only impartial butstrangely impersonal".

Unless umpires are involved in some crucial decisions, people generally donot bother to notice their presence on the ground even in this super electronicage. Their work, howsoever great, is hardly recognized and umpires generallyremain a band of unsung heroes.

No wonder not too many young men are keen on donning thewhite coat. While all this is true, it is also a fact that the game has comeacross a few outstanding umpires who adorned it with their unfailing presence onthe field. Cricket owes an enormous debt of gratitude to those gentlemen.

Stephen Antony Bucknor, who created history in the third and final Testbetween England and Sri Lanka at Old Trafford in Manchester by surpassing Bird'sfeat of officiating in a record 66 Tests, is one such umpire in contemporarycricket.

The 6 feet 3 inches tall Bucknor may have neither the character of FrankChester nor the charisma of Syd Buller, not even the romanticism of Bird, but heis in no way inferior to any of them in terms of class and competence.

So high are his standards, sense of duty, integrity, fair play and, ofcourse, reputation that it is not surprising that he has earned respectbordering on reverence of international cricketers. With due respect toS.Venkataraghavan, David Shepherd andothers, it must be said Bucknor is the cordon blue among modern umpires.

It may not be out of place tomention that Bucknor had been an international football referee, too, from 1985to 1992. In fact, he did officiate in a World Cup match between El Salvador andNetherlands. He had to stop officiating in international soccer when he reached the age of46 because, according to the FIFA rules, referees have to blow their finalwhistle at 45. Bucknor still referees back home in the Caribbean but only at alower level.

Born in Montego Bay in Jamaica on May 31, 1946, Bucknor was an averageclub-level all rounder. He knew his limitations as a player and stopped playingfor good "after seeing too many bad decisions". He took up umpiring -inevitably!

As an official he made his Test debut at Sabina Park and maiden One-DayInternational appearance in 1988-89 - both against Dilip Vengsarkar's Indianteam. He has not looked back since then and it has been a long and distinguishedinnings for this man of quiet dignity.

He has so far umpired in 67 Tests and 86 ODIs, including three World Cupfinals - 1992 (Melbourne), 1996 (Lahore) and 1999 (Lord's). The 1992 finalbetween Pakistan and England in Australia was particularly memorable for Bucknor.

He had no hopes he would be asked to do duty in such an important matchbecause till then he had stood in only 4 Tests and an equal number of ODIs. Itwas at once a testimony and a tribute to his umpiring skills. Despite being inexperienced and under so much pressure, Bucknor did a wonderful job andemerged with flying colours at the end of it all.

This is an era of neutral or third-country umpires. The Jamaican came withinfive runs and a couple of balls of missing out on the 1996 final when theCaribbeans were pipped by the Kangaroos in the nail-biting semi-final in Mohali.So much so that he had actually packed his bags and was about to fly back whenthe West Indies collapsed.

"Though the defeat paved the way for me to stand in the grand finale, Iwould have been happier if the West Indies had reached there," he says.There was, of course, no question of Bucknor not standing in the 1999 finalbecause the fall had been complete for the West Indies by then.

The Jamaican's courage of convictions has enabled him to maintain theextremely high umpiring standard he himself has set for himself regardless of afew debatable, if not questionable, decisions. But then the very job of umpiring is such that you cannotplease everybody everyday. Not only in his dealings withplayers but also with authorities has Bucknor demonstrated his fearlessness.He has more or less steered himself clear of  controversies all theseyears.

Cricket umpiring has become a profession, not a trade, in Bucknor's hand.With his brilliant mind and strength of character he has made umpiring an easyenough branch of cricket. In fact, Bucknor has given a status to cricketumpiring.

Watching him one feels he enjoys every moment of it.So passionate is Bucknor's love-affairwith umpiring that it has become a big and inseparable part of his life. It isgood that the ICC has a panel of international umpires so that men like Bucknorgets to officiate in all cricket-playing countries.

Although never the one to resist progressive measures, Bucknor is against theexcessive use of technology in cricket. He fears it might rob the game of someof its charm. "I don't mind the use of technology but I doubt if it cansolve all problems. Mistakes are made even with the help of technology. Use oftechnology is fine to a certain extent but if we tend to rely too much on it,I'm afraid the game might be ruined," says the man who has often refused totake recourse to electronic gadgets even in crucial decisions and preferred togo by his self-confidence.

Umpires have their styles of giving decisionsand Bucknor is no exception. A man of immense patience on the field, the WestIndian has earned the sobriquet "Slow Death Bucknor" for his trademarkslow motion raising of the index finger as he pronounces the sentence. He takes a frightfully long time before raising his finger which isfollowed by an apologetic but somewhat mischievous smile. What is moreinteresting is that he first bends a bit, then nods his approval beforeformalising the verdict in the approved way.

"I'm always like this ever since I first put on the umpire's cloak. I'venever been hasty in making decisions. It's my nature to take my own time, to dothings in my own way. Whenever I take decisions I spend as much time as possibleto make them. I don't know how many other umpires believe it's a good way to doit but I'm happy with it and hopefully others will also take their time to makeimportant decisions," says the Jamaican.

He may not have blazed a trail for others of his tribe to follow but he hasalways proved that patience does pay when you are an umpire. Punctuality is oneof the many endearing qualities about Bucknor. He always ensures that wheneverhe is on duty, he reaches the ground at least two hours before the start ofplay.

The only time he was a bit late was for a Test at Lord's when he turned up atfive past nine for an 11 o'clock start! When he walked through the gates, fiveminutes past his usual turn-up time, the MCC secretary called out: "You'relate, Mr. Bucknor!"

A near-perfectionist in whatever he does, Bucknor is a deeply religious man.He always keeps the Bible with him on overseas tours. When not umpiring andif at home, he usually coaches football and relaxes watching television,specially at night.

He loves children and enjoys talking to them about life as he believes that theymust grow up as worthy citizens. Bucknor is proud of his "beautiful"family - a "supportive" wife, four daughters and two sons in additionto one step-daughter. He often takes his better half and a couple of childrenwith him on tours.

It was Bucknor's long-cherished ambition to get past Bird's record. Now thathe has realised it in the colourful Yorkshireman's own land, he might call it aday any time.

The game will be poorer for his absence. But he will always befondly remembered for all the good things he stood for, not just for his uniquestyle of pronouncing judgement without fear or favour and without seeking eithersympathy or understanding from others.

If Chester, Buller and Bird were legends, Bucknor is certainly aninstitution.