KEY POINTS:
Every morning, Steve Bucknor goes through his pre-work routine - exercises, a verse from the Bible and a read of the morning newspapers.
He'll have found the last few days making interesting reading in Sydney. Bucknor doesn't appeal as a corn flake splutterer, perhaps more a set of
long, bony fingers steepled in contemplation as he peered out his hotel window. And if he is smart, he'll do the right thing and stand down from the International Cricket Council's elite umpiring panel.
The tall Jamaican with a bearing so laid back he's almost horizontal, has been among the most distinctive figures in cricket for the last two decades. It is time he lifted the bails a final time. His performance during Australia's fractious victory over India on Sunday was awful, and two dud decisions contributed massively to the outcome.
First, he failed to hear an edge from Andrew Symonds' bat when the Australian was on 30. It could be heard in the stands. Symonds went on to 162 not out.
Then on Sunday afternoon as India mounted a game-saving operation, Rahul Dravid - out of touch but not known as The Wall for nothing - had settled in to secure the draw early in the final session of the match. Then Bucknor gave him caught behind off Symonds when the ball clipped his pad, which had his bat clearly tucked well behind it.
India tumbled and the acrimony levels flew off the chart, among the hard words being calls by the Indians for Bucknor and his umpiring chum Mark Benson not to be seen in the middle for a while.
Bucknor is due to stand in the third test, starting at Perth on January 16. Not if India has its way, assuming the tour continues.
Bucknor, born in Montego Bay, has umpired every World Cup final since 1992 at Melbourne. He's racked up 120 tests - a record - and 167 ODIs, only two men have done more.
Known as 'Slow Death', players know if Bucknor's going to turn down a bowler's appeal, he does so reasonably smartly. If he's in no hurry to shake his head, batsmen may as well start walking.
Bucknor, a former World Cup soccer referee, has said he wants to stay on the panel until the 2011 World Cup. He will then be 65.
The ICC should act. Its chief executive Malcolm Speed put Bucknor and Benson's five days of bloopers down to a bad day at the office. That's not good enough. There are too many days like this.
There are moves to introduce player-driven appeals in one-day internationals, three per innings. Had Symonds and Dravid, not to mention Australian captain Ricky Ponting, got the decisions they deserved, things might not have reached the temperature they have. So much for neutral umpires being the answer.
Relations between Australia and India have long been dicey. Anil Kumble's "I think only one team was playing within the spirit of the game" is sure to sting Australian pride. Australia have long pushed the "hard but fair" line, although it's starting to look increasingly like it needs the rider "as long as it's on our terms".
And Bucknor? He pocketed US$120,000 ($157,232) for 34 days' work in 2007. It's good money for an often thankless job.
Bucknor has been outstanding, but he is 61. His time is up.
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BUCKNOR UPDATE:
The International Cricket Council (ICC) last night said it had no plans to adhere to India's demand and remove umpire Steve Bucknor from the third test against Australia.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has demanded Bucknor be stood down from the Test at the WACA Ground, which starts on January 16, following the poor performances of the Jamaican and England's Mark Benson during the second test at the SCG.
India were angered by several key decisions during the test, and insisted afterwards the result - a 122-run win to Australia - would have been different had half the incorrect decisions gone the tourists' way.
Benson is not scheduled to stand in the third test, but Bucknor is, with Pakistan's Asad Rauf.
However an ICC spokesman last night said cricket's governing body had no plans to change officials.
"We have not received anything from the BCCI at this point in time," the spokesman said.
"We have no plans to change the appointments."
India have called for Bucknor to be replaced despite it contradicting the laws of test cricket, which state teams do not have a say on which umpires officiate matches. (AAP)
