Australia T20 captain Aaron Finch was asked if he endorses running out batters at the non-striker’s end after his teammate Mitchell Starc warned England captain Jos Buttler for backing up during the third T20I on Friday.
The stigma around a lawful mode of dismissal – that is running out batters at non-striker’s end for backing up – does not seem to reduce as more players keep speaking against it. Finch is the latest name in the list, stating he does not personally like the mode of dismissal.
Finch was asked about his thoughts on the matter after the third T20I against in Canberra, where Starc warned Buttler for backing up before the ball was released. The incident occured in Starc’s first over, when Dawid Malan pushed delivery back to the bowler turning back Starc pointed at Buttler and the crease.
In unclear audio from a stump mic, Starc could be heard saying something similar to:
“I’m not Deepti but I might do it.” Buttler then responded with “I didn’t do it (leave the crease).”
“I wasn’t aware, had no idea about that. I think if batters get a warning then it’s fair game after that. That would go for most teams, I assume, if you give the batter a warning that they are getting a little too much ground before the ball is bowled. But I’m not a big fan of it, to be fair, personally,”
said Finch.
The mode of dismissal recently came into the spotlight after India’s Deepti Sharma ran out Charlie Dean at a crucial moment in the third ODI to clinch the series in England.
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Buttler has previously been run out at the non-striker’s end twice – by Sachithra Senanayake in an ODI in 2014 and by R Ashwin in the IPL 2019. Earlier he was asked if he would back his bowlers if they attempted it.
“No, I am calling the batsman back. No one wants to see them in the game because they always create such a talking point when it should be about the battle between bat and ball and watching great games of cricket. They always seem to happen at unsavoury times,”
said Buttler.
Earlier, The MCC had taken steps to destigmatize the dismissal by moving it from “unfair play” to “run out” in the Laws.
