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'Should not happen': Aussie cricket fans fume over 'horrible' act

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·4-min read
The bowler, pictured here pulling off a Mankad in a match between Kingston Hawthorn and Casey South Melbourne.
A Mankad decided a match between Kingston Hawthorn and Casey South Melbourne in Victoria. Image: Voctorian Premier Cricket/Twitter

The Mankad has reared its ugly head in Australian cricket once again after controversial scenes in a Victorian second grade game.

Video has gone viral on social media of the moment a Kingston Hawthorn bowler affected a Mankad to win the game against Casey South Melbourne.

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With Kingston Hawthorn needing one wicket to win, bowler Sen Sathyajith ran out the non-striker before he delivered the ball - also known as a Mankad.

While the Mankad is perfectly legal under the official laws of the game, many believe it goes against the spirit of cricket.

Some say a bowler should warn the non-striker if they think they are straying out of their crease too early, while others believe it has no place on the game.

However some believe it is a perfectly legitimate dismissal and think batters should pay the price for leaving their crease without knowing the bowler has delivered the ball.

Former Victoria and South Australia wicket-keeper Adam Crosthwaite is firmly in the camp against the Mankad, expressing his anger on social media.

“This is so bad,” Crosthwaite tweeted.

“This is horrible. Cannot believe the people in this post praising the bowler. Are you kidding?

"Unbelievable restraint from the Swans batsmen who walked off the ground after this. A bad look and should not happen."

The umpire, pictured here asking the fielding captain if he wanted to uphold the appeal before giving it out.
The umpire asked the fielding captain if he wanted to uphold the appeal before giving it out. Image: Victorian Premier Cricket/Twitter

Kingston Hawthorn reportedly needed just 32 runs with 10 overs remaining and five wickets in hand when the first Mankad was affected.

They then needed 14 off the final 18 balls with one wicket in hand when a second occurred to end the match.

According to reports, Kingston Hawthorn attempted the tactic twice more during the innings, as well as in the first XI game.

Cricket world still uneasy about 'Mankad'

Indian spinner Ravi Ashwin pulled off perhaps the most infamous Mankad during a match in the IPL in 2019.

Ashwin was widely condemned when he used the tactic against Rajasthan Royals’ batter Jos Buttler, when he was playing for Kings XI Punjab.

Aussie legend Ricky Ponting made a point of stamping out the Mankad at the Delhi Capitals when he took over as the team's coach.

“I’ll be having a chat with him (Ashwin) about (Mankading), that’s the first thing I’ll do,” Ponting said last year.

“Obviously, he wasn’t in our squad last year, he’s one of our players that we tried to afford to bring in this year.

“Look, he’s a terrific bowler, and he’s done a great job in the IPL for a long period of time now, but I must admit watching that last season, as soon as it happened and he did that, I actually sat our boys down and said, ‘Look, I know he’s done it, there’ll be others around the tournament who’ll think about doing this as well but that’s not going to be the way that we play our cricket. We won’t be doing that’.

The term 'Mankad' comes from Indian bowler Vinoo Mankad, who twice ran out Bill Brown at the non-striker’s end during a Test match in Australia in 1947.

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