- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The recent mankad incident at the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh has caused great debate about whether mankading is within the spirit of the game, and whether it should be allowed in the game.
Former West Indian fast bowler and now commentator Ian Bishop initially reacted from inside the commentary box on-air moments after the incident with a softly-spoken “Oh, no!”.
More cricket:
» There’s method in the selection madness
» Aussie rookies face litmus Tests in New Zealand
» Have the Australian selectors at last got it right for the T20 World Cup?
» Nevill the shock inclusion as Australia announce World T20 squad
» The Liebke Ratings: New Zealand vs Australia third ODI
» Watch: New Zealand retain Chappell-Hadlee Trophy amid controversy
» Scorecard: New Zealand vs Australia third ODI
Current England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan tweeted in response to the incident.
Disgraceful behaviour in the U19CWC. WI's should be embarrassed!!
— Eoin Morgan (@Eoin16) February 2, 2016
Respected Indian cricket commentator and journalist Harsha Bhogle also made an interesting comment on Twitter.
Amazed that the spirit of the game never comes up when batsmen hit the ball and stay on but does when a bowler mankads a batsman….
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 2, 2016
The incident happened in the Group C match between the West Indies and Zimbabwe on February 2 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong, in what was a must-win match for both teams to qualify for the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
With six balls left, and Zimbabwe needing three runs for victory, despite being nine wickets down, the unthinkable happened.
West Indian fast bowler Keemo Paul ran in to deliver the first ball of the final over, but decided not to deliver the ball in his normal delivery stride and ran out the non-striking batsman Richard Ngarava.
After this, the two on-field umpires, Ahsan Raza of Pakistan and Phil Jones of New Zealand, came together to discuss the matter and decided to refer the incident upstairs to the third umpire Tim Robinson of England.
The replays showed Ngarava’s bat was on the line, dragging it away from his crease, as Paul, with the ball in his right hand, whipped the bails off.
Third umpire Robinson then officially gave Ngarava out by run-out, ruling him short of his ground, meaning that the West Indies won the match by two runs, and were through to the quarter-finals.
It also meant that Ngarava had been effectively mankaded.
So, how did the mankad and the practice of mankading come about?
The dismissal known as the mankad is named after former Indian Test cricketer Mulvantrai ‘Vinoo’ Mankad.
Mankad, who played for India between 1946 and 1959 as an accomplished all-rounder, made headlines in cricketing circles in December 1947 after running out Australian opening batsman Bill Brown at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the second Test match of a series.
In only the fifth Test match of his career, Mankad ran out Brown in Australia’s first innings while he was in the act of delivering the ball, whipping off the bails at the non-strikers end. Brown was well short of his ground, attempting to gain a head start for a potential quick single.
This was the second time that this had happened between Mankad and Brown, after the Indian ran out the Australian a month earlier in a tour match.
The second incident caused a huge uproar, with the local Australian media at the time accusing Mankad of showing unsportsmanlike behaviour.
However, one person that was in support of Mankad’s actions was the then-Australian captain Sir Donald Bradman.
Writing in his autobiography, Bradman strongly defended the behaviour and actions of Mankad.
“For the life of me, I can’t understand why [the press] questioned his sportsmanship,” Bradman said.
“The laws of cricket make it quite clear that the nonstriker must keep within his ground until the ball has been delivered.
“If not, why is the provision there which enables the bowler to run him out?
“By backing up too far or too early, the nonstriker is very obviously gaining an unfair advantage.”
So, what is the law in regards to mankading, and being mankaded?
The rule regarding Vinoo Mankad’s run-out of Bill Brown would be deemed illegal in the game of cricket today and there is no wording of mankad, mankading, or being mankaded under any playing condition. Yet there is a key law in regards to this, including in the U19 Cricket World Cup 2016 – Playing Conditions.
Under “Law 42.15 – Bowler attempting to run out non-striker before delivery”, it states that: “Law 42.15 shall be replaced by the following: The bowler is permitted, before releasing the ball and provided he has not completed his usual delivery swing, to deliberately attempt to run out the non-striker.
“Whether the attempt is successful or not, the ball shall not count as one of the over. If the bowler fails in an attempt to run out the non-striker, the umpire shall call and signal dead ball as soon possible.”
So technically, the right decision in regards to Zimbabwean batsman Richard Ngarava was made.
However, is this acceptable within the spirit of the game?
A few days ago, I chatted online with a friend, Neil, who played cricket with my brother when they were younger.
Neil recently completed a Certificate in Cricket Umpiring with the NSW Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association, where they discussed and reviewed varying aspects of the game.
When I asked Neil about this recent incident, and whether it was acceptable within the spirit of cricket, he explained the situation to me very simply.
“In context of the laws of the game, the correct decision was given,” he explained.
“As for the spirit of the game, it gets just a little bit tricky.
“Cricket tends to be a batsman’s game these days and people scrutinising the bowler for what he did backs this up.
“The batsman left his crease early to gain an advantage when running between the wickets. The bowler was aware of this and ran him out.
“In my opinion, no one is in breach of the spirit of the game. Those who think one side or the other is in breach are the ones who are bringing the game into disrepute.”
So, summarising the words that are coming from a fully qualified cricket umpire, the actions of Keemo Paul were not only legal but his actions were perfectly fine in regards to the spirit of cricket.
So, no questions asked, right?
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.