Won’t have ‘mankaded’ had I been a bowler: Taylor

Bhubaneswar: Former New Zealand captain Ross Taylor said had he been a bowler he would have never done ‘mankading’ amid question of impropriety over Indian off-spinner Deepti Sharma’s dismissal of England’s Charlie Dean at the non-striker’s end during the recent Women’s One-day International series.
“If it is in the rules, it can be done. Since I am not a bowler, I don’t need to worry about it,” said Taylor, adding, “If someone asks me would you do it? I would not. It’s up to the individual player,” said Taylor, who obviously was not happy with the recent episode which many have said was not in the spirit of the game.
South Africa legend Lance Klusener said the issue has been hanging for far too long and the International Cricket Council (ICC) needs to come up with clear rules as to what you can to do and what you can’t.
“There needs to be a set of hard and fast rules. If it’s not there, people will take advantage of the kind of grey areas and that isn’t natural sports. It’s a grey area because how do you watch as an umpire becomes difficult and there are no clear rules as to what you can actually do and what not,” said Klusener.
It must be mentioned here that in the ICC’s recent rule change, to become effective from October 1, ‘mankading’ will be counted as a legitimate dismissal.
When asked whether he would exercise that option, the former South African cricketer said, “If it happens consistently, if it happens again, he would also exercise the option... running a non-striker out if he leaves the crease before the ball is delivered. The law has become controversial as it puts a question mark on fair play.”
Meanwhile, Indian bowler Pravin Tambe, who toiled for several years in club cricket before making his debut in IPL in 2013 at the age of 41, said if ‘mankading’ is in the rule, one should be allowed to do it.
“In sportsman spirit, both sides — the batsman at the non-striker’s end and the bowler must stick to the rules. The non-striker should also not leave the crease before the ball is delivered,” said Tambe.
Mankading is named after former India all-rounder Vinoo Mankad, who had made the first such dismissal when India played against Queensland in 1947-48. Mankad ran out non-striker Bill Brown, who had left the crease before the ball was delivered.