Bucknor, McLachlan - two of the best

Tony Becca, Contributor

When the Test match between South Africa and Australia ends at Newlands in Cape Town tomorrow, Steve Bucknor, one of the best umpires to come out of Jamaica, the West Indies and the whole wide world, will walk off the field and out of the Test arena for the last time.

Starting his international career as an umpire in 1989 against India, Bucknor, the former FIFA referee out of Cornwall College, will have umpired in a world-record 128 Test matches, plus a world-record five consecutive World Cup finals.

Despite his blunder regarding the light in the final of 2007, and in spite of his image in India after the India/Australia series in Australia last year, he will be remembered as the best of his time and one of the best of all time.

Best of his time

In Jamaica, Bucknor, a tall, bespectacled, slow-talking and slender man known as 'slow death Bucknor' because of the time it takes to lift his finger in response to an appeal, is undoubtedly the best of his time.

Despite the claims of others, such as Enos Knibbs and Sam Burke, more so Perry Burke and Tom Ewart, Reggie Cole and Owen Davies, only one man, Douglas Sang Hue, can challenge him as the number-one Jamaican umpire of all time.

And it is the same in the West Indies. Bucknor is the best of his time and, although men like Eric Lee Kow of Trinidad and Tobago and Cortez Jordan of Barbados were good, so, too, were E.S. 'Wing' Gillette of Guyana, Cecil Kippins of Guyana, and Ralph Gosein of Trinidad and Tobago

Oonce again, however, when it comes to the Windies' the best of all time, as good as they were, only Sang Hue can be compared with the unflappable Bucknor.

When it comes to the whole wide world, where, in spite of replays and referrals, there have been some good umpires in recent times, it is almost the same situation.

Standing beside Bucknor, or probably just behind him, as the best of his time were umpires such as David Shepherd of England; Rudi Koertzen of South Africa; Aleem Dar of Pakistan; Billy Bowden of New Zealand; and Simon Taufel of Australia.

The best anywhere

The best umpire of all time, from anywhere?

It may well be Bucknor and, with more exposure, it could well have been Sang Hue.

In my humble opinion, however, from what I remember, from what I have heard, from what I was told, and from what I saw, the best were Frank Chester and Dickie Bird of England.

There is no question about it, however; Steve Bucknor was one of the best of his time and of any time. Most times, as much as 95 per cent of the times, whenever he lifted his finger; whenever, after a long deliberation, he nodded his head; whenever he did not lift his finger; whenever, again after a long deliberation, he shook his head, he was right.

And but for the Indians, cricketers accepted his decisions as gospel.

While Bucknor is only walking away from the stumps and will be with us, hopefully, for a long, long time, Ken McLachlan is gone forever.

To many Jamaicans, last Tuesday was a normal day. To me, however, it was a sad day.

Last Tuesday was the day when members of the table tennis fraternity turned out at the Webster Memorial United Church to say farewell to a champion - a man who had served the sport faithfully and obediently for over 50 years.

A table tennis player who represented Jamaica, McLachlan served the sport not only as a player but more so, and for many reasons, probably more impor-tantly so, as an administrator.

A former secretary and president of the Jamaica Table Tennis Association, McLachlan, or 'Mr Mac', as he was affectionately called by the players, served the sport for many, many years as chairman of the selection committee and manager of the team.

Impact as manager

It was as manager of the team that he made his greatest impact on the game.

As a manager, 'Mr Mac' was more than an administrator. To many members of the team, to the young boys and to the young girls on tour, including my daughter Sharon, he was like a father - and a good father at that.

There were some glowing tributes to McLachlan, including one each from former players Sandra Riettie and Dennis Duncan, and one which was read on behalf of Leo Davis, another former player.

The best of them, however, came from former player and national coach Winston Cowans.

In a touching presentation, Cowans remembered McLachlan for his service to table tennis and to his country, a memory that was shared by the Reverend Norbert Stephens who, in his message, spoke about the importance of service and the need to follow McLachlan's example.

Over the years, Jamaica has produced some great sportsmen and sportswomen, and the reason is because this country has also produced some outstanding administrators.

Like those before him, men such as Herbert McDonald, Allan Rae, Tony Bridge, Keith Shervington, Leighton Duncan, and Baz Freckleton, women like Leila Robinson, Kitty Sharpe, and Margaret Cooke, Ken McLachlan served without any reservation; he did so without expecting anything in return, and everyone in sport should cherish his memory.