Steve Buckner, one of the most famous and talked about cricketer till date, is remembered for some of his harsh decisions against Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. On several occasions, the Jamaican umpire pointed his finger at Tendulkar, leaving people shocked.
Almost 22 years later, Steve Bucknor admitted that his decision against Sachin Tendulkar at Gabba was wrong. Bucknor, now 79, said that to this day he regrets the leg before the wicket (LBW) decision, which led to Tendulkar leaving the field empty-handed.
Sachin Tendulkar returned to zero due to Steve Bucknor’s wrong call
In the 2003–04 season, India were touring Australia for the Border–Gavaskar Trophy. At that time, Sachin Tendulkar was at the peak of his form and was a major threat to the Australian bowling attack. In those days, Australia’s bowling line-up was considered one of the best in the world. However, the Indian batting order, including Tendulkar, had the elements to put up a good fight.
India’s plans suffered a blow when West Indies umpire Steve Bucknor declared the ‘Master Blaster’ LBW. Sachin had to return to zero on three balls. The right-handed batsman tried to leave the ball bowled by Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie.
The ball hit Tendulkar on the left side. As soon as the ball hit the pad, the entire Australian cricket team made a loud appeal to the umpire and within seconds Steve Buckner decided to declare LBW. The batsman himself was in shock. But due to no other option, Tendulkar had to leave the field.
Hawk-Eye revealed that the ball was not even close to the stumps
Hawk-eye technology showed that the ball was going to go over the stumps. But the umpire’s mind might have imagined the ball’s trajectory differently. The on air commentators then immediately described the LBW call as ‘harsh’. More than two decades later, Buckner openly admitted that he had made the wrong decision.
Steve Bucknor said in an interview with the West Indies Cricket Umpires Association, “Giving Sachin Tendulkar out LBW, and knowing it was a mistake, but to this day, every day, people talk about it.”
He said, “Why did I give him out? Was he out etc? But then mistakes keep happening in life. I have accepted that it was a mistake and life goes on.”
2003-04 India vs Australia match summary
The match ultimately ended in a draw thanks to a brilliant inning of 144 runs by the then captain of Team India Sourav Ganguly and 75 runs by VVS Laxman. After the first innings, India were in the driving seat as they scored 409 runs in reply to Australia’s 323. In the second innings, Australia declared their innings by scoring 284-3 with the help of four half-centuries from their top 5 batsmen in the line-up. Opener Matthew Hayden played an aggressive inning of 99 runs.
The match ended in a draw as the Indian batsmen remained strong on track at 73 for 2 at the end of the fifth day.
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