Mankading in cricket comes off as a sore instance to the naked eye. Imagine playing the game of cricket, where the game has an orthodox feel to it. The rules are orthodox, and the dismissals are also, well, orthodox.
Amidst this scenario, you have a mode of dismissal like mankading.
So, What’s mankading?
Mankading in cricket is a mode of dismissal where the bowler runs out the non-striker before delivering the ball. This mode of dismissal is named after Indian cricketer Vinoo Mankad, who had run out an Australian batter in a similar fashion in one of the first instance of mankading in cricket.
Mankading in Cricket: Instances in Test Matches
Mankading in cricket hasn’t happened for the first time. There are many such instances where the cricket fans were left polarized by what they saw. Here are some of the few instances in Test cricket:
1. Bill Brown By Vinoo Mankad:
This was the first mankading in cricket. It happened during one of the Test matches that was being played at Sydney Cricket Ground on India’s tour to Australia.
Mankad, who was bowling, saw Brown advancing prematurely and removed the bails in a flash. Back then, people didn’t know about this mode of dismissal and named it after the Indian cricketer.
2. Ian Redpath By Charlie Griffith:
The second such instance happened 21 years later, with Australia again being on the receiving end.
Adelaide’s pitch was lucid, and Australia had to pursue 360.
At 215 for 2, everything was going well until Charlie Griffith, who always loved a scandal, mankaded Ian Redpath without giving him any notice.
3. Derek Randall by Ewen Chatfield:
The third mankading in cricket happened in a Test match between England and New Zealand. Leading the Kiwis by 183, England were looking to make some quick runs when Derek Randall was mankaded by an underarm throw from Ewen Chatfield at Christchurch.
4. Sikander Bakht by Alan Hurst:
Australia, as a team, were involved the most in mankading in cricket.
On the first two occasions, they were on the receiving end, but it was payback time against Pakistan. It all happened as Australia’s Alan Hurst mankaded Sikander Bakht during a Test match at Perth in 1979.
Mankading according to the rule-book?
Mankadig in cricket is perfectly legal, as the MCC rule book itself has said in Law 38.3, which pertains to the “Non-striker leaving his/her ground early,” states: “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 if he/she is out of his/her ground.”
To sum it up:
- If the non-striker is out of his or her ground from the moment the ball comes into play to the instant when the bowler could have released the ball in his delivery stride, the bowler is permitted to run him or her out.
- If he is successful in doing so, that ball will not be counted in the over.
- If he doesn’t succeed, the umpire will call that a dead ball, which means the bowler will go back to his mark and bowl the same delivery once again.
Mankading Rule in 2024:
In January 2023, MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) made a few changes to the existing rule that was given above. In its statement, the MCC accepted that there was some ambiguity with regards to the role of the non-striker.
Here are the changes they made:
- They have removed the wording and phrased it in such a way that now the onus is not with the bowler to run out the non-striker, but with the non-striker to protect himself.
- They also clearly defined the deadline for the bowler to run out a non-striker through mankad. Once the bowler reaches that ‘point of no return’, he or she can’t mankad the non-striker.
Here are the updated mankading rules:
- 38.3.1 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 if he/she is out of his/her ground. 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.
- 38.3.1.1 The instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball is defined as the moment the bowler’s arm reaches the highest point of his/her normal bowling action in the delivery swing.
- 38.3.1.2 Even if the non-striker had left his/her ground before the instant at which the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, once the bowler has reached that point it is no longer possible for the bowler to run out the non-striker under this Law.
