Steve Bucknor Admits His Two Mistakes That May Have Cost India The 2008 Sydney Test Against Australia

Steve Bucknor, former West Indian Umpire, has finally accepted his two mistakes that may have cost India the 2008 Sydney Test against Australia.

The 2008 New Year Test between hosts Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground in one of the most controversial Test matches of the 21st century. Apart from the ugly ‘Monkeygate’ scandal involving Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds, the on-field decisions by the umpires came under a lot of scrutiny.

The Test match saw several on-field decisions of match-officials in Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson go against India, which eventually turned out to be decisive in the end as the Men in Blue went on to lose the match by 122 runs.

“I made two mistakes in the Sydney Test in 2008. Mistake one, which happened when India were doing well, allowed an Australian batsman [Andrew Symonds] to get a hundred,” Steve Bucknor told Midday.

“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,” he added.

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“You need to know why mistakes are made”- Steve Bucknor

Steve Bucknor, who officiated in international cricket for more than 2 decades went on to explain how sometimes it is difficult for the umpires to hear faint edges.

“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,” he added.

“The commentators hear the nick from the stump mic but the umpires may not be sure. These are things spectators won’t know,” Bucknor said.

Following the controversy in the 2nd Test, Bucknor was removed from the on-field official list for the rest of the series. He was soon removed from the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires list.

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