- published: 03 Mar 2011
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Stephen Anthony "Steve" Bucknor OJ (born 31 May 1946 in Montego Bay, Jamaica) is a former international cricket umpire.
Bucknor umpired in a record 128 Test matches between 1989 and 2009, and also umpired in 181 One Day Internationals during this period, including five consecutive Cricket World Cup finals from 1992 to 2007. He was widely known for his long deliberations before making decisions, for which he earned the nickname "Slow Death". Before becoming an umpire, he was a football player and referee, a high school mathematics teacher and a sports coach.
In October 2007, he was awarded the Order of Jamaica, Commander Class, for "outstanding services in the field of sports".
Bucknor played as a goalkeeper in Jamaican parish leagues in the 1960s. In 1964 he played in goal for Jamaica in a schoolboy international versus Brazil, which Jamaica drew 1-1.
Bucknor was a FIFA referee in a CONCACAF and World Cup qualifier between El Salvador and the Netherlands Antilles in 1988.