Much media attention has focused on the ever-controversial Mankad rule this week, following Tuesday’s match between Sri Lanka and India.
Newspapers have been divided over India’s sporting spirit in appealing, then not appealing (by withdrawing the appeal) against Sri Lankan non-striking batsman Lahiru Thirimanne, who was technically and legally run-out by India’s off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
This is how it happened: Thirimanne left the crease before Ashwin delivered the ball. Ashwin broke the stumps and appealed to the umpire for a run out decision.
By the laws of the game the non-striker Thirimanne was out but to avoid future controversy, the two on-field umpires consulted Indian skipper Virender Sehwag as to whether he would like to appeal. Sehwag had a chat with Sachin Tendulkar and both showed sporting spirit and did not appeal.
It was cricket played in the true spirit of the game.
Thirimanne survived.
He was 44 with Sri Lanka at 4-196. He then went on to top score with 62 as his country reached 289 and eventually won the game.
Would Sri Lanka have reached this total and gone on to win by 51 runs if Thirimanne was given out in the 40th over? It’s a hypothetical question nobody can answer.
What annoyed me was that Thirimanne rushed out of the bowling crease before the Indian bowlers delivered the ball a few more times. According to the Mankad rule, what Aswin did was legitimate and the umpire should have declared Thirimanne out when he was 42 and not consulted Sehwag.
The Rule reads: “The bowler is permitted, before releasing the ball and provided he has not completed his usual delivery, to attempt to run out the non-striker.”
This incident reminded me of the original Mankad incident. On India’s first tour of Australia in 1947-48, India’s all-rounder Vinoo Mankad was involved in an episode which gave him unjustified notoriety.
When bowling against a strong Australian XI in Sydney he noticed Bill Brown at the bowler’s end leaving the crease before he delivered the ball. He warned Brown once but next time ran him out by whipping off the bails in the act of delivering the ball.
Mankad did the same in the Sydney Test and a new cricket phrase was coined: “to be Mankaded”.
The great Don Bradman (who was the captain on both occasions) defended Mankad in his autobiography Farewell to Cricket: “In some quarters Mankad’s sportsmanship was questioned. For the life of me I cannot understand why… By backing up too far or too early, the non-striker is very obviously gaining an unfair advantage.”
When the team departed for India, the Don presented Mankad with an autographed photograph with the words “Well played, Mankad” inscribed on it. Mankad treasured this till he died.
Subsequently rules were changed and this type of dismissal was only considered legal if the bowler was yet to enter his delivery stride.
As such the Indians were justified in appealing for Thirimanne, who had already begun to back up before Ashwin had delivered the ball.
But just as MS Dhoni had recalled England’s batsman Ian Bell in the July 2011 Trent Bridge Test for walking off before the umpire had officially called “over” for the tea break, Sehwag showed true spirit of the game.
Would any other captain have recalled Bell last year and not appealed against Thirimanne on Tuesday?
Rather than being chastened Thirimanne defiantly kept rushing out at the non-striker’s end. No ifs and buts, he should have been declared run out by the on-field umpire, no consultation necessary.
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