Cricket’s custodians the Marylebone Cricket Club made few rule changes on March 9. Included among them was the decision to legitimize running out non-strikers for backing up too far and shift it to the category of run-outs. The decisions will take effect from October this year.
Running out batters at the non-strikers’ end for backing up too far has been called ‘Mankading.’ While it has never been a violation of any rule, the act has always been looked down upon and considered to be against the spirit of cricket. Ravichandran Ashwin famously ran out Jos Buttler this way in IPL 2019 and the incident drew plenty of polarising reactions from all over the world.
However, cricket’s governing body the MCC has now deemed the move completely fair and has shifted it to the category of run-outs. Members and experts of the cricket fraternity have been welcoming of the decision and it also includes Australian batsman David Warner.
Warner has maintained that batsmen only have themselves to blame for leaving the crease so early. Bowlers will always be in a position to take advantage of it and the southpaw also advocates staying inside the crease as long until the ball is bowled in order to avoid losing wickets needlessly.
“I still think the history of the game suggests it’s a spirit of cricket thing… You don’t expect players to do that. I do agree with the fact that if you are backing up, and you’re out of your crease by a long way (you are fair game).
I think it happened more predominantly at the end of a white-ball 50-over games, or obviously in T20 cricket we’ve seen it but at the end of the day, as a batsman, you’ve got to stay in your crease,”
aid Warner as quoted by news.com.au.
“There’s no doubt about that, and if you’re silly enough to get caught out like that and run out, that’s your own fault. You’re told not to leave before the bowler lets the ball go, so just don’t do it,”
he added.
