JOIN US“The one that I would like the world to forget is the Sachin one, when he ducked into a (Glenn) McGrath bouncer in Adelaide in 1999. I’ve got the video clip on my laptop still, and you can see it is still out!” Harper said.
“Sunil Gavaskar was the commentator and he agreed, saying it would’ve been out leg before if the stumps were six inches taller. Sachin was the captain and he didn’t mention it in his report -- always fair play with Sachin, and he is still a wonderful sportsperson,” he recalled.
McGrath’s delivery had hit Tendulkar’s shoulder in front of the wickets and Harper ruled it out, leading to quite a furore.
Harper said he has made his share of mistakes but has never said sorry to a player for that.
“I’ve never apologised. I’ve made mistakes but there was nothing deliberate about any errors that I ever made. Replays find you out in these times, unlike in the old days where umpires got away with anything,” he said.
The 57-year-old, here for the Champions League Twenty20, has developed interest in Hindi and is learning the language.
Despite a long career, Harper has never won the ICC Umpire of the Year award which has gone a majority of times to fellow Australian Simon Taufel.
“Apparently, I’m in the top 12. I’ll almost be disappointed if I win it because I’m not a person who always gives the predictable answers.”