Made two mistakes in the 2008 Sydney Test which cost India, admits Steve Bucknor
Looking back at the 2008 Sydney Test, Steve Bucknor has finally admitted that his twin mistakes during the proceedings cost India the Sydney Test. First, he allowed Andrew Symonds to getaway on 30 against Ishant Sharma before he gave Rahul Dravid out in a controversial circumstance.
Despite being one of the long-standing umpires in cricketing history, the Windies umpire Steve Bucknor’s career was marred with controversies. Whilst his decisions against Sachin Tendulkar is well-documented, his wrong decision against India has cost dearly for the Asian side. Steve Bucknor admitted that he made two big mistakes in the 2008 Sydney Test between Australia and India which ultimately went on to dent India’s winning hopes in the Australian continent.
“I made two mistakes in the Sydney Test in 2008,” Bucknor told Midday, reported Hindustan Times.
Recalling his mistakes, the Caribbean umpire pointed out that he wrongly let the home all-rounder Andrew Symonds to get away with a caught-behind decision against Ishant Sharma when Symonds was batting on 30. The all-rounder then went on to score a match-winning 160 which turned the game in Ricky Ponting and co’s favour.
However, before that, India had managed to pull things in their favour, restricting Australia to 135/6. His second mistake, as he admitted was giving Rahul Dravid wrongly out caught-behind when the former Indian skipper had not got any sort of connection with his bat on the ball before India crashed to a 122-run loss.
“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 added.
12 years after the incident, Bucknor narrowed the decisions and mistakes down to several factors - including wind blowing down the pitch alongside its sound. He also stated that it is easy for commentators to hear the nick from the stump microphone but a tad difficult for the on-field umpires with spectators in full-flow.
“You need to know why mistakes are made. 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,” Bucknor added.
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