To walk or not? Leave it to batsman: Steve Bucknor

MUMBAI - Should batsmen walk when they know they're out, or should wait for the umpire's decision? Former ICC umpire Steve Bucknor agrees that most people don't walk. Speaking exclusively, he said: "Very few batsmen walk even though they realise they are out, most don't walk. However, it should be left to the individuals. It is something personal and I had no grudge on which they don't walk". "The umpires job becomes easier when they don't wait for the decision and I would be happy to see this happen," Bucknor further added. India's Sachin Tendulkar and Australia's Ricky Ponting took different routes in the current World Cup walking debate. In the late 1990s, two distinguished MCC members (and ex-England captains), Ted Dexter and Lord (Colin) Cowdrey, sought to enshrine the 'Spirit of Cricket' in the game's laws. This would remind players of their responsibility for ensuring that cricket is always played in a truly sportsmanlike manner. The success of the spirit of cricket initiative depends upon the willingness of players. Interestingly, since the turn of the century, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the custodian of the laws of the game, has distributed a range of promotional materials around the globe, including thousands of MCC Spirit of Cricket cards, featuring the game's best cricketers - from Sachin Tendulkar, Flintoff, Brett Lee and Lara. In recent years, these cards have been translated into many different languages and distributed to dozens of cricket-playing nations, including India, Sri Lanka.