12 years after umpiring mistakes by Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson cost team India the Sydney test, the former has come ahead and admitted the wrong decisions he had made during the game.
Speaking with Mid-Day, Bucknor said:
I made two mistakes in the Sydney Test in 2008. 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’s first wrong decision was not giving Andrew Symonds caught behind off Ishant Sharma, which led to the Aussie scoring a century. His second mistake of the game came when he declared Rahul Dravid out on the last day when India were set 333 to chase from 72 overs.
Bucknor said that mistakes were made but explained that down on the ground, it is more difficult to hear the noise picked up by the stump mic than it would be for a commentator.
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.
Twitter had a pretty mixed reaction to Bucknor admitting that his mistake might have cost India the Sydney test.
This episode came as a blot on an otherwise celebrated career as Bucknor was removed by the ICC from officiating in the third Test in Perth. He retired in 2009 after officiating in 128 Tests and 181 ODIs.