January 10, 2008	Thursday	Zilhaj 30, 1428

BRIDGETOWN, Jan 9: The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has dubbed as “extreme” the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to drop umpire Steve Bucknor following the Sydney Test controversy.

“On the surface, the ICC’s reaction in this particular instance seems to be extreme,” West Indies board president Julian Hunte said in a letter to ICC president Ray Mali. “A dangerous precedent may have been set by the ICC.”

Meanwhile, West Indies manager Clive Lloyd and South Africa coach Mickey Arthur have criticised the decision to remove Bucknor for the Perth Test.

“That’s just silly, you can’t do that,” former ICC match referee Lloyd said. “Does that mean when anybody says they don’t want a particular umpire we’re going to move them?—Reuters