Lahore attack, X-mas far from family gave ex-ump Taufel new perspective

By Rahul Banerji

A hail of AK-47 bullets in Pakistan and a festive occasion spent in South Africa far away from family gave Simon Taufel a sense of what he needed to do. And like the decisive umpire he was in a stellar career, he pulled the trigger in 2012.

Taufel retired as an international umpire in 2012 after 13 eventful years in the course of which he not only stood in some epochal matches, but was also adjudged the best in the business for five years in a row.

In all, his career spanned 74 Test matches, 174 one-dayers and 34 T20 games, including Yuvraj Singh’s “six sixes in an over” match against England during the 2007 World T20 at Durban.

This, he admitted at the Delhi release of his book Finding The Gaps, could have been seven, as one Stuart Broad delivery should have been no-balled for height.

“Yuvraj looked at me after he had hit the ball out of Kingsmead and pointed above his waist. It should have been a no-ball, and possibly a seventh six,” he smilingly said at the event. “But umpires are also human and do make mistakes.

‘Communication the key’

“What is important is to try and make sure these are as few as possible and that you communicate this to the players, that we are all trying to do the best job possible,” with former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh nodding consent.

But it was missing his family back in Sydney for two Christmases in a row while on umpiring duty which helped make up his mind in 2012. That, and the infamous attack on the Sri Lanka team by terrorists in Lahore three years earlier in the course of which the driver of the umpires’ vehicle was killed and a fellow match official shot in the stomach.

“After another Christmas away from home, this time in Durban, I called by boss at the ICC and told him I could not do it again, and said I was ready to leave if necessary. And that was it.”

In the course of the evening at the Australian High Commission steered by commentator Gautam Bhimani, Taufel touched on many aspects of the job, the technicalities, pressures, changing environment of the sport and its attendant demands, turning off and on to Harbhajan for corroboration.

Keen insights

Bhajji, who is making something of a name for himself in the commentary box, had some insightful offerings to make, including the relationship between bowler and umpire and being part of nerve-wringing games he and Taufel were part of, including the 2011 World Cup semi-final at Mohali against Pakistan.

“It is a tough task but as players, we by and large feel the umpires are sincere and doing the best they can. Today technology has stepped in but the final call is still a human one, and we respected Simon for his fairness, as much as his approach to the job.”

First donning the white coat at age 19 after an uneventful few years as a cricketer, Taufel recalled how he made his international umpiring debut in the Boxing Day Test between Australia and West Indies in Melbourne in 2000, with former India captain and off-spinner S. Venkataraghavan for company.

“I went to ask Venkat which end he would prefer to stand and he said, “the other one from you”. I realized then I was in the big league.”

Taufel went on to be named umpire of the year for five straight years between 2004 and 2008 by the International Cricket Council and his farewell game came at the 2012 World T20 tournament in Sri Lanka.

“I am in favour of experiments in the game but also hope the authorities make no hasty changes,” he said in reference to the pink ball Tests that are starting to take root, with one in progress in Kolkata even now, the very first in the sub-continent, between Bangladesh and India.

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