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FROM THE BOUNDARY - A great umpire, a wonderful man
published: Friday | August 10, 2007
Tony Becca
Every year at this time, at independence time, the Government of Jamaica, on behalf of the people of Jamaica, recognise the achievements of Jamaicans, the contribution of Jamaicans to the greatness of Jamaica, and this year was no exception.
On Independence Day, on Monday, August 6, the Government announced that on Heroes Day, on October 15, over 100 people will be honoured for outstanding performance, for exceptional contribution to the country, and numbered among them, among champions like William 'Bill' Clarke, Herro Blair, Keble Munn, Dorothy Pine-McLarty, and Edwin Jones, are sportsmen Steve Bucknor, Don Anderson, Robert Bryan, and Maurice Foster.
Sport has been so big in Jamaica, and Jamaica has been so successful in sport that it is not surprising that four sportsmen are on the list. In fact, sport is so big in Jamaica, and Jamaica has been so successful in sport, that it could be considered a surprise that there were not a few more.
So many have been the young men and the young women, the men and women who, on and off the field, have made this country so great that the Government, on behalf of the people, could easily have honoured more, and especially so, a woman or two, on or off the field - not to mention one or two more men who actually hit a ball, bowled a ball, kicked a ball, run, jumped, or threw something.
Although there were others who could also have been honoured and who may, in time, be honoured, the fact, however, is that all four deserve the high honour, and with due respect to Anderson - who must have been so honoured for his performance as a member of the Jamaica Olympic Association, to Bryan - who must have been honoured for his performance as head of the local organising committee for the Cricket World Cup, and to Foster who performed so magnificently as a cricketer for Jamaica if not so for the West Indies, at the head of the list, and justifiably so, was Bucknor.
While Anderson, Bryan, and Foster will receive the Order of Distinction (Commander Class), Bucknor will be rewarded with the Order of Jamaica.
A quiet man, Bucknor's love throughout his life and apart from his wife and his family, has been sport, that love led him to representing Cornwall College in both cricket and football, to representing St. James in both cricket and football, to teaching sport at Cornwall and at St. Elizabeth Technical, to becoming a FIFA referee, and that love finally led him to becoming one of the greatest if not the greatest cricket umpire the game has ever seen.
Trusting the umpire
Steve Bucknor of Jamaica....is arguably the best umpire of all time. - file
When I was a boy, I heard a lot and I read a lot about an umpire named Frank Chester of England, and I believed that every decision he made was right - just as I believed, until I found out otherwise, that every decision umpires like Syd Buller, Frank Lee, and Arthur ************g of England, Colin Egar and Colin Hoy of Australia, and Idris Beg of Pakistan made was correct.
Later on, I respected men like Dickie Bird and David Shepherd of England, Darrell Hair of Australia, and today, even though television replays tend to show them up a bit, I respect practitioners like Rudi Koertzen of South Africa, Aleem Dar of Pakistan, and Simon Taufel of Australia.
To me, however, even though he has not been as sharp in the past year or so as he had been for a long, long time, even though he was one of those who blundered in the last World Cup final, the 61-year-old Bucknor, the man who was rated among the best from the moment he put on the white coat in a Test match in 1989 at Sabina Park, the man who has umpired in 163 one-day internationals and is in his 119th Test, the one and only man to have stood in 100 Test matches, and the man who, partly because of the West Indies failure to perform on the field, has stood in the last five World Cup finals, is arguably the best umpire of all time.
Worthy decision makers
The only men, I believe, worthy of challenging the man from Montego Bay, the man who, at six feet three inches and standing tall behind the stumps, thinks about it and then nods or shakes his head before giving a decision, are Chester, Bird, Hair, and Douglas Sanghue.
Sanghue, like other West Indian umpires, like Cortez Jordan of Barbados, Eric Lee Kow of Trinidad, Perry Burke and Tom Ewart of Jamaica, Owen Davies of Jamaica, Wing Gillette and Cecil Kippin of Guyana, and Ralph Gosein of Trinidad and Tobago, did not enjoy the opportunities with which Chester, Bird, Hair and Bucknor were blessed.
The little man who crouched behind the wicket, the man who officiated in 31 Test matches between 1962 and 1981, and the man who, with Chinese in his blood, was the first West Indian to stand in every Test match in a series, was also a great umpire, and like Bucknor, a wonderful man.
published: Friday | August 10, 2007
Tony Becca
Every year at this time, at independence time, the Government of Jamaica, on behalf of the people of Jamaica, recognise the achievements of Jamaicans, the contribution of Jamaicans to the greatness of Jamaica, and this year was no exception.
On Independence Day, on Monday, August 6, the Government announced that on Heroes Day, on October 15, over 100 people will be honoured for outstanding performance, for exceptional contribution to the country, and numbered among them, among champions like William 'Bill' Clarke, Herro Blair, Keble Munn, Dorothy Pine-McLarty, and Edwin Jones, are sportsmen Steve Bucknor, Don Anderson, Robert Bryan, and Maurice Foster.
Sport has been so big in Jamaica, and Jamaica has been so successful in sport that it is not surprising that four sportsmen are on the list. In fact, sport is so big in Jamaica, and Jamaica has been so successful in sport, that it could be considered a surprise that there were not a few more.
So many have been the young men and the young women, the men and women who, on and off the field, have made this country so great that the Government, on behalf of the people, could easily have honoured more, and especially so, a woman or two, on or off the field - not to mention one or two more men who actually hit a ball, bowled a ball, kicked a ball, run, jumped, or threw something.
Although there were others who could also have been honoured and who may, in time, be honoured, the fact, however, is that all four deserve the high honour, and with due respect to Anderson - who must have been so honoured for his performance as a member of the Jamaica Olympic Association, to Bryan - who must have been honoured for his performance as head of the local organising committee for the Cricket World Cup, and to Foster who performed so magnificently as a cricketer for Jamaica if not so for the West Indies, at the head of the list, and justifiably so, was Bucknor.
While Anderson, Bryan, and Foster will receive the Order of Distinction (Commander Class), Bucknor will be rewarded with the Order of Jamaica.
A quiet man, Bucknor's love throughout his life and apart from his wife and his family, has been sport, that love led him to representing Cornwall College in both cricket and football, to representing St. James in both cricket and football, to teaching sport at Cornwall and at St. Elizabeth Technical, to becoming a FIFA referee, and that love finally led him to becoming one of the greatest if not the greatest cricket umpire the game has ever seen.
Trusting the umpire
Steve Bucknor of Jamaica....is arguably the best umpire of all time. - file
When I was a boy, I heard a lot and I read a lot about an umpire named Frank Chester of England, and I believed that every decision he made was right - just as I believed, until I found out otherwise, that every decision umpires like Syd Buller, Frank Lee, and Arthur ************g of England, Colin Egar and Colin Hoy of Australia, and Idris Beg of Pakistan made was correct.
Later on, I respected men like Dickie Bird and David Shepherd of England, Darrell Hair of Australia, and today, even though television replays tend to show them up a bit, I respect practitioners like Rudi Koertzen of South Africa, Aleem Dar of Pakistan, and Simon Taufel of Australia.
To me, however, even though he has not been as sharp in the past year or so as he had been for a long, long time, even though he was one of those who blundered in the last World Cup final, the 61-year-old Bucknor, the man who was rated among the best from the moment he put on the white coat in a Test match in 1989 at Sabina Park, the man who has umpired in 163 one-day internationals and is in his 119th Test, the one and only man to have stood in 100 Test matches, and the man who, partly because of the West Indies failure to perform on the field, has stood in the last five World Cup finals, is arguably the best umpire of all time.
Worthy decision makers
The only men, I believe, worthy of challenging the man from Montego Bay, the man who, at six feet three inches and standing tall behind the stumps, thinks about it and then nods or shakes his head before giving a decision, are Chester, Bird, Hair, and Douglas Sanghue.
Sanghue, like other West Indian umpires, like Cortez Jordan of Barbados, Eric Lee Kow of Trinidad, Perry Burke and Tom Ewart of Jamaica, Owen Davies of Jamaica, Wing Gillette and Cecil Kippin of Guyana, and Ralph Gosein of Trinidad and Tobago, did not enjoy the opportunities with which Chester, Bird, Hair and Bucknor were blessed.
The little man who crouched behind the wicket, the man who officiated in 31 Test matches between 1962 and 1981, and the man who, with Chinese in his blood, was the first West Indian to stand in every Test match in a series, was also a great umpire, and like Bucknor, a wonderful man.
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