Steve Bucknor

Port-of-Spain: Close on the heels of ICC’s push for extended role for technology in the game, come damaging allegations from a reputed umpire who said TV production crews doctor images to show umpires in poor light and favour popular batsmen.

In a startling revelation, ICC Elite Panel umpire Steve Bucknor accused television companies of misusing technology which, he said, was creating mistrust between players and umpires.

“It has been known to happen where technology has been used to make umpires look bad.

“Mats (the line graphic used to adjudge leg before decisions) have been moved, balls have disappeared, ball hitting the bat and only coming up into the fielder’s hands, but between the bat and the hand, no ball is found and you are told, ‘sorry, we don’t have that clip, we can’t show it’,” Bucknor was quoted as saying by the media here.

“It has happened. I’ve been in a game when it has happened,” said Bucknor, who has stood in a world record 111 Tests and four World Cup finals.

“Sometimes nothing is shown because the batsman was a key player and getting out at that stage would have made life very difficult for that team.

“It all depends on who is operating the technology. I have been told that this ball is the one with which the batsman got out, but the one that is being shown is not the same one he got out with.

“It has been known to happen. When these things are happening, it makes life extremely difficult for the umpires. Who do you trust from there on you don’t know,” he was quoted as saying in a newspaper.

Bucknor’s stinging remarks come a day after the ICC’s Cricket Committee recommended that teams be allowed appeal to the third umpire three times in an innings if they were not satisfied with the onfield umpire’s decision.

[K. Hariharan, when asked about Bucknor’s allegation, refused to comment, saying that he had not “experienced anything like this”, adds A Staff Reporter in Calcutta.

The Indian, who is on the ICC International Panel of Umpires, though, welcomed the move to provide third umpire more says. “This is on experimental basis. I think it will be helpful in case of close games,” he maintained.]

Bucknor, however, admitted that there is a place for technology in the game and would like to see “a little bit more”.

“In the beginning of my career, umpires were trusted. When umpires said not out, the man was trusted, so they would say he is a good umpire and nobody questioned him.

“Today, the technology shows up his mistakes, and makes life a little bit difficult for umpires, especially when it has been known to happen that technology has been used to make umpires look bad,” said Bucknor.

The West Indian has also officiated in 139 one-day Internationals.

Bucknor also expressed disappointment that umpires were not consulted by ICC before taking important decisions.

“I’d been happy been to be part of this change, but these things happen and we know about them happening rather than for us to say this is what we want. We’ll have to live by them.

“Whatever they say, we’ll just have to live by,” he said.