Add Category
Updated
Australian Test greats are divided over the controversial Mankad dismissal in the Indian Premier League (IPL), with Shane Warne labelling the incident "disgraceful" and Mitchell Johnson claiming it was not an act of cheating.
Key points:
- Shane Warne accused Ravi Ashwin of performing a "low act" following the Mankad incident
- Mitchell Johnson believed Ashwin was acting within the rules of cricket
- Ashwin said the rules may need to be "sorted" following the furore created by the dismissal
Ravi Ashwin ran out Jos Buttler at the non-striker's end in the Rajasthan Royals' season opener against Kings XI Punjab in Jaipur, as the Englishman wandered out of his crease prior to Ashwin's delivery stride, assuming the Indian spinner was about to deliver the ball.
Instead, the Kings XI spinner paused and waited for Buttler to leave his ground before whipping off the bails.
Buttler, who was playing alongside former Australia captain Steve Smith in his IPL return for the Royals, was forced to depart the scene and he exchanged angry words with Ashwin as he exited the field amid a chorus of boos from the crowd.
The cricket world is divided over the use of the Mankad technique, which is not illegal under the laws of the game, with Warne accusing Ashwin of performing a "low act".
But Johnson belongs to the opposing camp.
The retired Test fast bowler tweeted he did not believe Ashwin had cheated because the move was not illegal according to cricket's rule book.
"Its (sic) not cheating, it's not against the spirit as it's in the rules you can do it," Johnson tweeted.
Johnson came under fire on Twitter for his stance but he had no issue about disagreeing with Warne.
Retired Test batsman Dean Jones sided with Johnson in supporting the dismissal.
Australia opener Marcus Harris, however, said he disagreed with what Ashwin did.
"I saw some of the commentary on that and you never do that," Harris said.
Ashwin said his actions were "within cricket's rules" and were not "unsporting".
"It is there within the rules of the game," he said.
"I don't know where the understanding of the spirit of the game comes from because, quite naturally, if it's there in the rules it's there, so probably the rules need to be sorted."
Call for cricket world to 'judge Ashwin's actions'
Royals coach Paddy Upton, who exchanged words with Ashwin at the conclusion of the match, was less than impressed.
If the non-striker is out of his/her ground from the moment the ball comes into play to the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the bowler is permitted to attempt to run him/her out. Whether the attempt is successful or not, the ball shall not count as one in the over.
If the bowler fails in an attempt to run out the non-striker, the umpire shall call and signal dead ball as soon as possible.
"I think R Ashwin's actions tonight speak for him and represent him," he said.
"When I looked in the eyes of his teammates I'm not sure if it represented his teammates.
"I think we'll leave it up to the IPL fans to decide if that's the kind of thing they want to see and we'll leave it up to the cricket world to judge Ashwin's actions tonight."
Photo:
Ravi Ashwin has come under fire following the Mankad incident. (AAP: Mick Tsikas, file photo)
The Mankad method of dismissal has long been one of the most contentious in the game.
It was named after Indian bowler Vinoo Mankad, who created controversy when he dismissed Australian batsman Bill Brown twice in a similar manner at the SCG in a 1947 Test.
It occurs when a bowler removes the bails at the non-striker's end of the wicket to catch a batsman out of his crease when he is "backing up".
Batsmen are "backing up" when they stray out of their crease to help reduce the distance they have to run for a quick single.
Topics: sport, cricket, india, australia
First posted