‘Mankading’ gets MCC all-clear in Ashwin row
Controversial run-outs by bowler are allowed Dismissal deemed not to infringe Spirit of Cricket
As guardians of cricket’s laws, the MCC has come down in favour of the bowler, India’s Ravi Ashwin, rather than the non-striker, England’s Jos Buttler, in its judgment on the “Mankad” incident in the Indian Premier League on Monday.
The MCC emphasised that Mankading is no longer against the Spirit of Cricket, a preamble to the Code of Laws. The non-striker is entirely responsible for not being caught out of his ground, and the bowler is no longer expected to warn the non-striker before running him out for backing up too far.
“The wording of the law needs to be examined to understand it further,” the MCC said in a statement 24 hours after the incident in the match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals, which excited such strong condemnation that England’s one-day captain, Eoin Morgan, described Ashwin’s Mankading of Buttler as a “terrible example for young kids”.
“This law is essential,” the MCC went on. “Without it, non-strikers could back up at liberty, several yards down the pitch, and a law is needed to prevent such action.” Implicit criticism of Buttler, therefore, for backing up too soon.
Law 41.16 states: “If the nonstriker is out of his/her ground from the moment the ball comes into play to the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the bowler is permitted to attempt to run him/her out.
“The crux of the issue is when the non-striker can safely leave his/ her ground, and what the bowler can do to effect this form of dismissal without courting controversy,” the MCC added.
“To clarify, it has never been in the laws that a warning should be given to the non-striker and nor is it against the Spirit of Cricket to run out a non-striker who is seeking to gain an advantage by leaving his/ her ground early.
However, to complicate matters, the MCC said Buttler could have been ruled out or not out, depending on how “the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball” is interpreted. The expected moment of release is when the arm reaches its highest point.
“Some feel Ashwin delayed his action to allow Buttler the chance to leave his ground and that he was in his ground when he expected the ball to be released,” the MCC’S statement said. “If it was a deliberate delay, that would be unfair and against the Spirit of Cricket. Ashwin claims this not to be the case.”
Mankading takes its name from the Indian all-rounder Vinoo Mankad who, in the first recorded instance, twice ran out Bill Brown on India’s 1947-48 tour of Australia. Mankad first ran out Brown in a practice game after Mankad had given him a warning, then did it a second time in the second Test in Sydney without warning.
From 2000, the law was once the bowler’s back foot had landed, a run-out could not be attempted. But this had the effect of the nonstriker being able to gain a head start before the ball had been bowled. In 2017, the MCC changed the wording. Also, to stress this is a problem caused by the non-striker, the MCC changed the title of the law from “bowler attempting to run out non-striker” to “non-striker leaving his/her ground early”.