It is always a wonder in sport that the best performers usually don't know when it is time to quit - always seeming to want that one last chance to recapture thei of glory. That, in a sense, seems to be the trap that has caught the great Jamaican cricket umpire, Steve Bucknor, who this week suffered the ignominy of being stood down by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the third Test of the current series between India and Australia. He was accused of 'incompetence' by the Indians.

Mr. Bucknor is now not only embroiled in one of the great cricket controversies after the ill-tempered second Test at Sydney, which the Indians lost, but it appears that an inglorious end has been brought to what was his mostly glorious umpiring career.

There are many issues and important principles at stake in the events Down Under. Not least of these is what should be the methods and modes for the effective administration of international cricket, the spirit in which the game ought to be played, and what right, if any, a powerful cricketing nation should have to impose its will over the conduct and control of the sport - as India has been able to do with regard to Mr. Bucknor - and the broader question of whether their tour of Australia should continue.

Indeed, these issues were foreshadowed 18 months ago when the Australian umpire, Darrell Hair, was sidelined after a stand-off with Pakistan's team whom he accused of ball-tampering during a Test in England. Then, the ICC waffled on the issue. Now the issue has been raised again with the Bucknor matter, as well as the suspension of the Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh for an alleged racist slur against Australian player Andrew Symonds.

The Indians, with the support of their board, threatened to go home, until the ICC blinked, sacrificing Bucknor and staying the sentence against Singh, pending an appeal.

It is critical that the ICC engage in a serious debate on governance in cricket and arrive at a clear position on the issue, lest controversies like the Darrell Hair and Bucknor/Harbhajan Singh affairs continue to crop up with increased frequency. Mr. Bucknor, 62, is the ICC's most experienced umpire, having stood in 120 Tests and five World Cups. Indeed, at one time he was lauded as the best umpire in the world. However, there is little doubt that he has passed his prime, displaying lapses in concentration and judgement. If he hadn't noticed, he should have been told.

If the Indian player engaged in racism and brought the game into disrepute, he should be punished. Yet, it is ironic that his accusers should be Australians whose reputation for 'sledging' and in-your-face play and, as the match against India showed, cheating, is notorious.

It is now time that the ICC employ enforceable standards for all, whether the super-talented Australians or India, whose cricket-mad millions provide the television audience that generate huge revenues, making them the game's financial powerhouse.