It has been exactly 11 years since Sachin Tendulkar retired from the game but he still draws the attention of the fans like none other. A post on Twitter from the master blaster got the fans talking on Saturday (November 16).
Tendulkar posed for a picture in front of a big tree and was in his batting stance. His caption read, “Can you guess which umpire made the stumps feel this big?”
When the 51-year-old posed the question, fans on ‘X‘ (formerly, Twitter) went ballistic. There was just one name that was unanimous in the replies and reposts. And that was of Steve Bucknor.
In fact, even Irfan Pathan replied to the post and said, “The one who would have run miles away from the cricket ground in the times of DRS. SB”.
Bucknor officiated in 128 Test matches and 181 ODIs between 1989 and 2009. He also umpired in five consecutive World Cup finals between 1992 and 2007. Bucknor’s umpiring career largely coincided with Tendulkar’s playing career. The Jamaican umpire was one of the standing umpires in multiple games featuring Tendulkar and was guilty of making wrong decisions.
There were a couple of shocking calls that Bucknor made which led to Tendulkar’s dismissals. In 2003 at the Gabba, the Mumbai-born batter left a length delivery from Jason Gillespie which struck him high on the front pad. However, Bucknor adjudged that out and replays showed the ball would’ve easily flown over the stumps. In 2005, Tendulkar was given out caught behind against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens. Replays suggested that there was a big gap between the bat and the ball.
Bucknor was also one of the standing umpires during the infamous 2008 SCG Test between India and Australia. He got several decisions wrong which went against India and that costed them the game.
In fact, after he retired, Bucknor himself admitted to getting some decisions incorrect when the legendary Indian batter was in question.
“To err is human? Once in Australia, I gave him out leg before wicket and the ball was going over the top. Another time, in India it was caught behind. The ball deviated after passing the bat but there was no touch. But the match was at Eden Gardens and when you are at the Eden and India is batting, you hear nothing. Because 100,000 spectators are making noise. Those were the mistakes and I was unhappy. I am saying a human is going to make mistakes and accepting mistakes are part of life,” Bucknor was quoted saying in a Mason and Guests radio programme in Barbados back in 2020.
