Table of Contents
The Rule
The rule of run out is very clear in Cricket. The batsman has to occupy the crease always when he is not attempting a run and when the ball is in the play. In this age of fast cricket, the batsmen often try to gain undue advantage by backing up too far even when the bowler is not in his bowling stride. As per the rule the bowler, if he has not reached to his bowling stride and the batsman is out of the popping crease at the non-striker’s end he may dislodge the bails or stumps and the batsman can be given out by the umpire upon appeal.
How the term ‘Mankading’ came into the picture?
The first ever such incident came into the picture in the history of the game was on 13th December when India was playing against Australia in the second test at Sydney, the Indian bowler Vinoo Mankad ran out the Australian batsman Bill Brown when Mankad removed the bails just before he was on to his delivery stride and Bill Brown was well out of the crease. In a tour game before this test match Mankad had warned Brown, who was playing for the Australian XI and the Sydney test was the second occurrence for the tour and Mankad this time did not warn him and dislodged the bails.
As it always happens the Australian media came heavy on Mankad and criticized him and termed his act as ‘unsportsmanlike’. But Australia’s superstar cricket player Sir Don Bradman came in support of Mankad and said he was just acting as per the rule described in the book. Since then similar kind of dismissals has been called ‘Mankading’.
Is ‘Mankading’ right or wrong?
It is the way you look at it. If the ‘Mankading’ decision has gone against you or your team you play or support for, you will consider it wrong. Cricket is often called as ‘gentlemen’s game’ and gentlemen are not expected to do cunning things on the cricket field. Just like when a throw from a fielder has redirected by hitting batsman’s bat, the batsman is expected, ethically, not to take a run after it, similarly, the bowlers too are expected to allow the batsman a certain freedom by moving away from the popping crease at the non-striker’s end. But mind you these all are unwritten rules and it has no bounding on rules. But as we have mentioned above, these days when batsmen can do anything to score more runs, including ‘switch hits’, bowlers should use the advantage of ‘Mankading’ those who do not follow the rules properly. One warning is expected from a bowler before ‘Mankading’ the same batsman but again it is not legally required.
Instances of Mankading in the first class cricket
- Alex Barrow by Murali Karthik, Somerset Vs Surrey at Taunton, 2012
- Sandipan Das by Murali Karthik, Bengal Vs Railways at New Delhi, 2013
Instances of Mankading in One Day Internationals
- Brian Luckhurst by Greg Chappell, England Vs Australia at Melbourne, 1974-75
- Grant Flower by Dipak Patel, Zimbabwe Vs New Zealand at Harare, 1992-93
- Peter Kirsten by Kapil Dev, South Africa Vs India at Port Elizabeth, 1992-93
- Jos Buttler by Sachitra Senanayake, England Vs Sri Lanka at Birmingham, 2014
Instances of Mankading in Test Cricket
- Bill Brown by Vinoo Mankad, Australia Vs India at Sydney, 1974-48
- Ian Redpath by Charlie Griffith, Australia Vs West Indies at Adelaide, 1968-69
- Derek Randall by Ewan Chatfield, New Zealand Vs England at Christchurch, 1977-78
- Sikander Bakht by Alan Hurst, Australia Vs Pakistan at Perth, 1978-79
Instances of NOT Mankading
- Courtney Walsh to Saleem Jaffar, Pakistan Vs West Indies, 1987 World Cup. (West Indies could not qualify for the semi-finals)
- Mohammad Rafique to Umar Gul, Pakistan Vs Bangladesh, at Multan, in 2003. (Bangladesh lost the test match by 1 wicket)
- Ravichandran Ashwin to Lahiru Thirimanne, India Vs Sri Lanka at Brisbane in 2012. (Ashwin Mankaded Thirimanne but after forcing to rethink by the on-field umpires and consulting with Sachin Tendulkar, the stand in captain Virender Sehwag withdrew the appeal. As per Sehwag, Ashwin warned Thirimanne before Mankading him, but the Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene said, he was unaware of such warning.
For the life of me, I can’t understand why (the press) questioned his (Vinoo Mankad’s) sportsmanship. The laws of cricket make it quite clear that the non striker 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 non striker is very obviously gaining an unfair advantage.
– Sir Don Bradman on Vinoo Mankad ‘Mankading’ Bill Brown.
