In support of Steve Bucknor

The India-Australia spat shows that the ICC's umpires need career planning.

Former Australian umpire Darrel Hair was barred from officiating in Test matches after he and Billy Doctrove presided over the forfeiture of the Oval Test between Pakistan and England in August 2006. Earlier, he made a reputation by repeatedly no-balling Murali for chucking. It is with not a little trepidation that Umpire's Post seeks to join ranks with Hair in his support of Steve Bucknor.

Mind you, if Bucknor is removed from the elite panel, Hair could fill the breach. He has completed a management course at the University of New South Wales as part of the deal struck with ICC after a highly-publicised legal battle. So at least this will go down as an act of magnanimity from Hair.

As is entirely expected, the entire sordid affair of Sydney is getting drowned in the semi-triumph of Indian cricket's financial might. Soon, the triumph will be complete; Harbhajan will no doubt be acquitted. After all, this is the team that once successfully boycotted a match referee and, to prove the point further, played an unofficial Test in South Africa.

It is a reality of today's cricket world that India can get away with nearly anything. The other is that it is horribly disorganised and has scant regard for human relations and no respect for those who depend on it for livelihood.

Just under 62, Bucknor is old enough to have already availed of superannuation in nearly every profession. (Promoters of companies and politicians continue until much older. But the first lot is the master and commander and in the case of the second, it is an occupation, not a profession.)

It is obvious that Bucknor did not give incorrect decisions deliberately to favour Australia. If you want to do that, the opportunity is in LBW decisions, which have the most room for discretion and interpretation. Denying a thick outside edge cannot be any sane man's idea of manipulation.

Bucknor is beyond the age at which one should be subjected to the rigours of Test match umpiring. He did not apply for the Sydney Test either. There is a dearth of quality umpires and, with Taufel out because he is an Australian, ICC has few to turn to.

So a man physically unfit for the job gets thrust into it. He obviously would be tempted "" the money and spotlight can be addictive. But what the heck! How many will voluntarily retire from a plum job? It is for that reason that career planning is the responsibility of organisations.

For those who came in late, and this may include ICC, Bucknor used to be a soccer referee until FIFA put him out to pasture in 1989, at the age of 45. It was then that he turned to cricket.