That’s not how to win a cricket match

Shocking.
If winning means winning at any cost then it's time to pack it all in.

 

So most players respect the spirit in which the game is played. But with the rules as they are, it's inevitable this will happen on rare occasions. People can complain all they wish but unless the rules are changed it will continue to happen.

 

In local cricket, the bowler usually issues a warning if the non striker is backing up too far and too often. "Al run thi art if tha does it ageean"
That would have sufficed but she chose to throw the dummy and looked pretty smug about it. That's what grates me.
I reckon that dummy bowling trick would work just about every single ball in T20 because batters are always looking for a quick single and try to be on their toes as the ball is delivered.
Imagine that being done in a test match to break a good partnership. Dirty tricks at its worst.

 

All the batsman has to do is keep their bat behind the crease until the ball is released. If they do that then it won't happen. It's really not difficult.

By nature it's premeditated because they see the batsman doing it on previous deliveries and decide in advance to try and run them out. The bowler then has to stop their delivery action because that's the rule.

It's not unsporting. It's a rule in the laws of the game. It's only whiny batsmen complaining over the years that made bowlers "give them another go"

 

Isn't it then unsporting to steal yards at the non strikers end before the ball is released in the name of "backing up"? *

Why should a bowler have to see a batter do this, then mankad him, but only to have to then give him a warning, which invariably means he won't do it again.

Who does that benefit? Certainly not the bowler.


* I'd say not. It's part of the game. You do it fine, but be prepared to be run out. It's a game within a game.

 

I would change the laws to use the "one short" rule to cancel a run made if the non-striker was out of the crease at the point of delivery, and get rid of Mankad runouts entirely. That would be difficult to enforce at local level, without an additional umpire, but at top level the same technology that is now used for no-balls could be used. The 1 run penalty fits the "crime" of excessive backing up far better than dismissal, which is like imposing a driving ban for parking on a double yellow.

 

Every mankad is premeditated because they likely notice the batsman leaving the crease in previous deliveries.

Additionally the bowler has to stop their action before they get to the natural point of release, which means they have to know in advance.

 

It was clearly within the laws of the game, but I agree not a way to win a match.

Warnock, Ainsworth, Don Revie & a million others have done similar stuff, in different ways.

 

There's no need. If batters want to steal yards, as they often do, then let bowlers run them out.

If batsmen don't want to take the risk, then they keep their bat behind the crease until the ball is bowled.

It's a great dynamic of the game which is ruined because some folk want to insert some long held yearning for "fair play". Some idealist nonsense that's been absent from the game since inception. (WG Grace was a known cheat).

 

I refer to my comment earlier in the thread.

If you're happy with it, and it's in the rules (which it is), then why doesn't a bowler do it every ball?

 

I do know what you mean and I almost agree, but my point is that the punishment doesn't fit the crime.

If the fielding side commits a minor offence, such as a bowler bowling a no ball or a wide, they get penalised by 1 run and having to bowl the ball again. More serious offences, such as distracting the batter, ball tampering etc cost 5 runs. These penalties have minimal affect on the outcome of a match, unless repeated often. Most non-striking batters unintentionally leave the crease too early in their eagerness to back up. I've done it myself. I don't believe they should be punished by dismissal.

In any event, the laws of the game could be re-interpreted to cover the situation anyway. The umpire can award 5 penalty runs to the fielding side if the batters deliberately run "one short". This would soon stop excessive backing up without the controversy over a Mankad dismissal.