NEW DELHI: Jos Buttler run out (Ashwin) 69. This is how the dismissal of the batsman reads on the scorecard of Kings XI Punjab’s match against Rajasthan Royals.
It is different from other run outs. It is called ‘mankading’ because former India all-rounder Vinoo Mankad was the first to effect this dismissal to send back the non-striker for leaving the crease before the ball was delivered. Allen Hill, who bowled Nat Thomson in the first ever Test match, doesn’t have the mode of dismissal named after him! Nobody says Hilled!
But it comes with a catch. Despite being part of the MCC manual for mode of dismissals, mankading if often seen as an unsporting manner of getting someone out. So Buttler is being called a victim and Ashwin is termed desperate.
Why? Because it against the “spirit of cricket.”
What is that?
According to MCC’s preamble to the laws: “Cricket owes much of its appeal and enjoyment to the fact that it should be played not only according to the Laws, but also within the Spirit of Cricket.” It expects players to “Play hard and play fair.”
So who was playing hard and fair on Monday? Ashwin? Definitely so. Why? Because he was well within the rules. Buttler? Well.. No! Why?
Let's go back to the same preamble, which says, “Respect is central to the Spirit of Cricket.”
Was Buttler showing respect to the game or the opposition? A big NO. By venturing out of the crease before the ball was delivered, he was gaining an unfair advantage. It’s something that players should be aware of before they do it.
There is another argument with regard to whether Ashwin deliberately waited for Buttler to leave the crease. But all the visuals make only one thing clear. Buttler was repeatedly leaving the crease early. In the over he was dismissed, he did it thrice, before Ashwin removed the bails. We all have seen bowlers deceive the batsman and force a mistake. Ashwin went a step ahead and deceived the non-striker!
“Hey, he should have warned him.” There is no need. Why? Because again the law doesn’t say so.
The existing law was revisited by the MCC’s cricket committee,which includes some illustrious names like Mike Brearley, Rahul Dravid, Steve Waugh, Andrew Strauss and Shaun Pollock — players who only enhanced the reputation of cricket being called a gentleman’s game. They concluded the dismissal was not against the spirit of cricket.
Ashwin is being castigated despite staying within the rules because for decades, this has been seen as unacceptable. Across formats, there have been only nine such instances in international since Mankad did it in 1947.
The more it happens, the more we would get used to it. And batsmen will learn that this part of the crease belongs to the bowler and no spirit can save them. Batsmen have been naive. With time, they will learn and evolve into better cricketers, who understand the difference between law and spirit. The case of Buttler and his sympathisers stands dismissed.