Cricket’s Controversial Dismissal Explained: Running the non-striker out, also known as Mankading, is a method of dismissal that divides the cricket community. While some consider the dismissal to be reasonable, others argue that it violates the spirit of the game. In the 2019 Indian Premier League, India’s all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin caused a non-striker run-out against England’s Jos Buttler.
Over the years, it has been employed by the bowling side, and a handful of Indians have been dismissed in this manner. Deepti Sharma ran Charlie Dean out during an ODI series between India and England in September 2022, the last time an Indian female cricketer accomplished this feat.
However, this was attempted in international cricket as recently as August 24, when Afghanistan bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi ran out Pakistan batsman Shadab Khan at the non-striking end during a fraught One-Day International match in Sri Lanka.
Cricket’s Controversial Dismissal Explained: What is Mankading’s historical context?
Mankading dates back to 1947, when India’s famous all-rounder Vinoo Mankad ran out Australia’s Bill Brown in Sydney using this technique. Greg Chappell ran out England’s Brian Luckhurst for the first time in one-day internationals in 1974-75. Mark Chapman was dismissed in the Asia Cup Qualifier for Twenty20 cricket when Amir Kaleem ran him out.
What are its guidelines?
Mankading has always been a legal method of dismissal, despite the emergence of spirit of cricket protests from certain segments of the cricket community. The law was drafted by the Marylebone Cricket Club, which is the keeper of the laws. In March 2022, MCC amended the law by moving it from the ‘unfair play’ portion to the ‘run-out’ section. It has been transferred from Law 41 (illegal play) to Law 38 (runout).
It is part of Law 38 and states, “From the time the ball enters play until the time the bowler would typically be expected to release the ball, the non-striker is liable to be run out if he/she is out of his/her ground. The non-striker will be run out if he/she is out of his/her ground when his/her wicket is laid down by the bowler throwing the ball at the stumps or by the bowler’s hand holding the ball, regardless of whether the ball is subsequently delivered.
Changes to the statute
MCC amended the statute in 2017 and rewrote it in 2019. Previously, the law stated “Bowler attempting to run out non-striker before delivery,” but it has since been changed to “Non-striker leaving their ground early.” This was done in order to place the burden on the non-striker to maintain their position. In 2017, another alteration was made. Previously, a bowler was only permitted to execute this form of run-out before entering his delivery mode, which could give a batter an unfair advantage. A bowler is now permitted to run out the batter “at any time before he releases the ball as long as he has not completed his delivery swing.”
In 2019, the language was modified to once again place the burden on the batters. MCC changed Law 41.16 from “the bowler is permitted to run [the non-striker] out” to “the non-striker is liable to be run out.”
Here is the amended statute in its entirety:
38.3.1 If the non-striker is out of his/her ground from the moment the ball enters play until the moment the bowler would have been anticipated to release the ball, he/she is liable to be run out. The non-striker will be run out under these conditions if he/she is out of his/her ground when his/her wicket is laid down by the bowler throwing the ball at the stumps or by the bowler’s hand holding the ball, regardless of whether the ball is subsequently delivered.
38.3.1.1 The moment when the bowler would ordinarily have been expected to release the ball is defined as the moment the bowler’s arm reaches its highest point in the delivery swing during his/her normal bowling action.
38.3.1.2 Even if the non-striker had left his/her ground before the moment the bowler would ordinarily be expected to release the ball, it is no longer possible for the bowler to run out the non-striker under this Law once the bowler has reached that point.
