Ask any cricket enthusiast to name the methods that can be used to dismiss as batsman and they will be able to reel them off in seconds:
1. Retired out
2. Bowled
3. Timed out
4. Caught
5. Handled the ball
6. Hit the ball twice
7. Hit wicket
8. Leg before wicket
9. Obstructing the field
10. Run out
11. Stumped
There is one form of dismissal though that has so much emotion and opinion attached to it that we feel that it deserves to be recognized as a dismissal all on its own instead of being hidden away under the more generic description of “Run out”. We are of course talking about… MANKADING!
For the uninitiated, a non-striking batsman can be run out if he backs up too early and is caught out of the crease by the bowler before the bowler releases the ball. It is generally accepted that it is etiquette for the bowler to warn the batsman when he notices him leaving the crease early before he actually runs the batsman out for continuing to do so. This form of dismissal was named after the first player ever to run a batsman out like this – Vinoo Mankad. Mankad was an opening bastman and left arm slow bowler who played 44 Tests for India and run out Australian batsman Bill Brown in a Test during their 1946 Tour to Australia.
There was a recent media storm around this form of dismissal after England batsman Joss Buttler was “Mankadded” by Sri Lankan off spinner Sachithra Senanayake during an ODI played at Edgbaston. Most of the anger was focussed around the opinion that this form of dismissal was “not in the spirit of the game”.
Unfortunately for those who believe that the gentlemanly spirit of the game still exists… that gentleman died in 1977 at the start of Kerry Packer’s “World Series of Cricket”. Cricket has become a professional game and any bowler who would not make use of a perfectly legal method of dismissal to gain an advantage for his team is simply not doing his job. A bowler is penalized with a no ball if they overstep the crease, why should a batsman not face a penalty for not respecting the same line?
To put it into perspective, if you were the bowler and it was up to you to bowl the final ball of the Cricket World Cup Final, with the opposition needing only one run to win….. and the non-striking batsman steals some ground before you are in your delivery stride….. you would do it too wouldn’t you?
Keep your eye on the ball! (And don’t run too early!)
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