Journalist Tom Blow finds one of cricket's most famous umpires enjoying his retirement - and officiating the odd club match in the Bronx, New York
There is a surprising figure at the heart of club cricket in New York – one of the game’s most famous umpires.
Steve Bucknor, 77, the legendary Jamaican umpire famous for his ‘slow death’ and nod before raising the finger, now stands in World Series League matches between recreational clubs in New York, where he lives.
He does so as New York is about to welcome eight matches in the first round of the T20 World Cup to its pop-up stadium in Eisenhower Park, Long Island.
He told The Mirror: "I enjoy this because for me this is therapy. It's work, but it's exercise as well."
He also suggested that cricket was on the rise in New York: “Yes it is growing because normally, maybe on a Sunday, we have eight games being played on the park. And it's always refreshing to see more persons turning up to play cricket.”
Bucknor, still wearing his old ICC sweater, stands in games in Van Cortlandt Park, The Bronx, which was the ICC’s preferred venue for the temporary stadium until they ran into local opposition from community groups as well as the club cricketers themselves, who would have lost access to their many artificial pitches in the park.
'That's not Steve Bucknor' - Journalist Tom Blow describes the moment he realised legendary umpire was officiating the club game he was watching:
Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.