Team India c Benson b Bucknor

In a match where V V S Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar kept their tryst with the Sydney Cricket Ground, umpire Steve Bucknor too managed to maintain his record. After some very poor umpiring by Bucknor and Mark Benson saw India go down by 122 runs and 0-2 in the series today, skipper Anil Kumble, sources said, gave Bucknor a zero in his captain’s report — just what Sourav Ganguly did in the last meeting at the SCG four years ago.

An upset Kumble, who remained stranded at the non-striker’s end on 45 as Michael Clarke took three wickets in five balls to win the Test for Australia with just seven deliveries to spare, also accused Australia of unsportsmanlike conduct. “Only one team was playing in the spirit of the game, that’s all I can say,” Kumble told a news conference. The ICC code of conduct barred him from giving vent to his anger.

With Bucknor due to stand in again at Perth — he has been named for the third Test with Asad Rauf — team manager Chetan Chauhan said the BCCI was “lodging a strong protest with the ICC to ensure that some of these incompetent umpires do not umpire in the rest of the series”.

“The way the umpiring has been conducted, the team has been agitated. A lot of decisions have gone against us. Had even 50 per cent of those come out in our favour, the result would have been different. It has really affected us and we are not saying this because we have lost this Test match. I have been informed that the Board is lodging a strong protest with the ICC to ensure that some of these incompetent umpires do not umpire in the rest of the series,” he said.

The BCCI is learnt to have already lodged a strong protest through its vice-president Rajiv Shukla and is trying to get Bucknor removed from the third Test, citing a recent precedent in Sri Lanka where umpire Rudi Keortzen was removed as umpire from the next match after he wrongly ruled Kumar Sangakaara out — Sri Lanka subsequently lost the match. Keortzen remained on the ICC posting list and came to India for the Kolkata Test where he made another blunder, giving Rahul Dravid out caught behind though the batsman hadn’t nicked the ball.

Even match referee Mike Procter is said to be unhappy with the umpiring by Bucknor and Benson in this match. They made a combined contribution to a phenomenal 12 bad decisions in the match (see box) —— a record that overshadowed some classical innings with the bat and ball.

“I can only say that I am disappointed. I think a draw would have been a fair result but everybody could see what happened. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to make further comment” Kumble said.

“It’s tough when you’ve played all forms of cricket over the last 25 years and end up on the losing side like this, it does affect you. You try and take it sportingly, but it’s very difficult and it hurts when you lose like this and then when you’ve had a great chance to win.”

From the dressing room, a few unmentionables were mouthed in disgust as the horror on field was revisited on the laptop of team analyst Dhanjaya.

As he walked back, Rahul Dravid could be seen laughing, shaking his head at Bucknor’s decision ruling him out.

Sourav Ganguly was next, adjudged caught by Michael Clarke at second slip when there was considerable doubt about the ball carrying — in fact TV replays showed the ball hit the ground. As Ganguly stood his ground, umpire Benson chose to go by Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke’s word. Ganguly left reluctantly.

The umpires saw their wrong acts on the giant screen even before Dravid and Ganguly left the ground but didn’t call back the players — England’s Kevin Peitersen was called back during India’s first Test at Lord’s.

Ponting, meanwhile, defended Bucknor and Benson. “The players haven’t lost their confidence in the umpires. Everybody realizes that they are trying to do their best,” he said.

Upstairs, in one of the glass cases at the SCG boxes, Sunil Gavaskar, head of the ICC cricket committee, was fuming. “This is utter nonsense. They have robbed the sheen of a good Test match,” he said on air.