‘Mistakes happen, I accept it’: Steve Bucknor issues apology to Tendulkar 22 years after Gabba blunder
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Mistakes happen, I accept it’: Steve Bucknor issues apology to Tendulkar 22 years after Gabba blunder")
Steve Bucknor issues apology to Sachin Tendulkar 22 years after Gabba blunder Photograph: (AFP)
22 years after the infamous Gabba LBW, umpire Steve Bucknor finally apologises to Sachin Tendulkar. Read his admission on the blunder that shocked the world
22 years since wrongly adjudging former Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar LBW during the first Test in Brisbane on the 2003/04 tour Down Under, ex-ICC match official Steve Bucknor has issued an apology to him. Sachin’s wrongful dismissal on a three-ball duck sent shockwaves across the cricket world, with the commentators calling it a dreadful decision. Tendulkar, being Tendulkar, respectfully walked off (despite looking disappointed), with Jason Gillespie celebrating the prized wicket.
However, it wasn’t the first time that Bucknor had made a blunder with Sachin at the opposite end, as several examples of him wrongfully adjudging Tendulkar out have made headlines earlier. Now 79, Bucknor apologised to Sachin for his error in judgment that day, as the replays showed the ball was missing the stumps, having hit the top of his right pad on a bouncy Gabba track.
“That is a dreadful decision. Have a look at this, look at the bounce and movement,” late commentator Tony Greig had said then.
Breaking the silence for the first time since giving Sachin out during the Gabba Test, Bucknor admitted his mistake, adding he regrets raising his finger, and that such things happen in life.
“Giving Sachin Tendulkar out leg before wicket, and it's a matter of knowing that it was a mistake, but until this day, every day, people talk about it,” Bucknor said in an interview with the West Indies Cricket Umpires' Association. “Why did I give him out? Was he out and so on? But then in life, mistakes happen. I have accepted that it was a mistake, and life goes on,” he continued.
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WATCH Bucknor’s admission of his mistake –
Meanwhile, Sachin wasn’t the only batter who faced the consequences of Bucknor’s error in judgment.
Former England captain and now a renowned broadcaster, Nasser Hussain, was once also wrongly adjudged LBW (by Bucknor) off Saqlain Mushtaq’s wrong-un during a Test in Pakistan on the 2000 tour as he edged that one, while England were robbed off a chance to win the Lord’s Test against India during the 2007 series, after number 11 batter RP Singh survived a clear LBW call (by Bucknor), with the match ending in a draw sooner.
Late spin great, Shane Warne was also left stunned after his arm ball that trapped Abdul Razzaq in front of the wickets was adjudged not out by Bucknor during Australia's tour of Pakistan in the UAE.
Another example of Bucknor’s umpiring horrors includes refusing to adjudicate late Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds out, even after he clearly edged one to the keeper off Ishan Sharma during the infamous 2007 Sydney Test, which India lost late on the final day, leading to widespread criticism.
