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Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) chief executive Todd Greenberg has called for the term ‘Mankad’ to be removed in reference to the run-outs at the non-strikers end from the sport’s language and said that the players have a key role in removing the stigma around the dismissal.
There has been a lot of criticism which is going on the mode of dismissal especially in countries like Australia and England after Ravichandran Ashwin’s dismissal of Jos Buttler in the 2019 IPL, Deepti Sharma’s running out Charlie Dean at Lord’s in an ODI in 2021, or the latest attempt by Adam Zampa against Tom Rogers in BBL.
A few days earlier, Mitchell Starc had also given Theunis de Bruyn a warning for backing up during the Boxing Day Test.
Interestingly, the term originated when former India cricketer Vinoo Mankad ran out Australia’s Bill Brown at the non-striker’s end for the first time in 1947. Since then, this kind of dismissal has been termed “Mankading”.
Todd Greenberg calls for the 'Mankad' to be renamed out of respect to Vinoo Mankad and his family #AUSvSA pic.twitter.com/boOH8iifDq
— SEN Cricket (@SEN_Cricket) January 6, 2023
“I don’t think it’s a debate, think it’s very black and white, it shouldn’t be the word Mankad. I agree the players have a role in eradicating that term, it’s a run out at the non-striker’s end,” said Greenberg while speaking to SEN radio during the Sydney Test.
The ACA chief executive further pointed out that just like bowlers have to follow some strict rules like not stepping ahead of the bowling crease, batters should similarly adhere strictly to the rules.
“In a game played where centimetres, even millimetres, make the difference, if the onus and responsibility is on the bowler to stay behind the line at the point of delivery then the onus and responsibility should be on the batter to do similar.
“Players have a huge opportunity to change language and tone. And that correlates right down through participation because this is not just an issue at the elite level, it will be an issue in an Under-12s game on a Saturday and it will put parents and volunteers under huge pressure if they don’t see what’s happening at the elite level. The kids at that level replicate what happens on the field.”
During the Melbourne Derby played on January 3 in the ongoing Big Bash League 2022-23, Stars captain Zampa affected a run-out against Renegades’ Tom Rogers who was miles ahead of his crease.
Zampa wasn’t credited with the dismissal as the third umpire felt the bowler had completed his action before inflicting the run-out. However, there were two different opinions after the match in Melbourne Stars with coach David Hussey saying they would have anyhow withdrawn the appeal as that was not the right way to play cricket.
On the other hand, Zampa felt he did the right thing and largely stood by his actions.
Greenberg acknowledged that getting all players and those involved in the game at a senior level on the same page would be a challenge.
“Sometimes we have to have hard conversations and sometimes you have to square up players and say this is what’s better for the game. I’d be saying to all players, former players and coaches, if you stay behind the line you don’t have this conversation,” he added.
Many players have provided an alternative to running out batters at the non-striker’s end. Australian pacer Mitchell Starc and former spin bowler Brad Hogg believe the batting side should be docked a certain number of runs to prevent the batter from leaving the crease.
Earlier, The MCC had attempted to remove the stigma attached to the dismissal by moving it from unfair play to run out in the Laws of the game. However, there still remains some debate about whether the wording of the Law is clear enough, particularly around the element of a bowler’s point of release, which was key in the recent Zampa example.
According to MCC Law 38.3.1, “If the non-striker is out of his/her ground at any time from the moment the ball comes into play until the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the non-striker is liable to be Run out. In these circumstances, the non-striker will be out Run out if he/she is out of his/her ground when his/her wicket is put down by the bowler throwing the ball at the stumps or by the bowler’s hand holding the ball, whether or not the ball is subsequently delivered.”
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