Bucknor wants to do more Caribbean games

International umpire Steve Bucknor feels he is being kept from standing in matches in West Indies for no apparent reason. Bucknor, who turns 60 at the end of the month, is the World's most decorated umpire, but last Sunday's second one-day international between West Indies and Zimbabwe in Antigua was his first match in the Caribbean for five years.

He previously stood in an ODI between West Indies and South Africa at the same venue, and Bucknor is looking forward to doing more games in the region. "I feel I should be working more in the Caribbean because there are many young umpires I could help, but I have not been given games, so that assistance has not been forthcoming," he told reporters on Friday. "I can do matches at the regional level, but I have not been selected for the longest time by the West Indies board. Why I don't know."

Bucknor acknowledges his duties as a member of the ICC's elite panel of umpires keeps him away from the Caribbean for long periods, but he spends enough time at home to be used. "I can't do Tests, but I can do ODIs and domestic games, yet I have not been selected. The last time I was around for the domestic one-day competition, and I was told, 'Bucknor, you are tired. Go take a rest!' And the competition started two weeks after I landed, so I don't know."

Bucknor feels not enough is being done to help train young umpires for the rigours of first-class and international cricket. "West Indies need an umpires' manager, somebody whose job it is to see that umpires are treated properly and that training for umpires go on."