Menace in White?

Detractors in the sub-continent -- and you are tempted to side with them -- call Bucknor a 'Coconut'. The complexion is misleading, for he’s white inside.

While such comments tantamount to racism, the truth is that the trigger-happy Man in White has been a Menace in White and he often rubbed the sub-continent the wrong way by his erratic index finger.

Only Greg Chappell boasts of a more heinous finger – he preferred middle over the index.

It’s indeed a pity that the formerly affable Jamaican would go down to cricket’s annals as the pathetic soul who presided over the outrageously chaotic end to the 2007 World Cup final and how the mere sight of an Indian batsman often prompted him to point upwards.

Even at his best, Bucknor was not among the fastest decision-makers. By the time he raised his finger, the bowler had often returned to his mark and the relieved batsman would have taken guard for the next delivery.

At times, he made decisions dubious enough to give you the impression that it pertained to the previous match he had officiated in.

Well, to err is probably human but Bucknor’s amazing consistency is asinine. These days he looks a man out to erode his own stature as one of the longest serving officials in the game’s history.

And while India can legitimately claim to be at the receiving end of his goof-ups, I think the two worst victims of his tragedy of errors are Bucknor himself and the game of cricket.

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