It’s not something we often see, and when we do, it sparks debate – the mankad.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
For those not familiar with cricket’s rarest form of dismissal, the mankad sees the bowler remove the non-striker’s bails if he sees the batsmen creeping out of his crease.
Anyone not aware of the ruling at Tuesday’s BCA Major League Twenty20 Cup clash between North Ballarat and Darley was quickly brought up to speed as Darley’s Matthew Cape dismissed Roosters’ Will Rogers.
The controversial dismissal came at a crucial time of the match with North Ballarat at 4-67 in pursuit of Darley’s 112, Rogers was on 20.
As Cape came into bowl, during his bowling stride he saw the Englishmen well outside his crease, he then whipped off the bails, appealed, and the finger was raised.
Darley eventually won the match by 29 runs.
The action has sparked much debate around cricketing circles with opinions differing. But the action sits comfortably with the man himself, Cape telling The Courier if placed in the same situation, he would do the same thing.
The star all-rounder said Rogers had left the non-striker’s crease well before the bowler had got into his action on a number of occasions, “about three metres” out of his crease according to Cape.
Cape said he would not of done it in a two-day match, or even a one-dayer but he was comfortable doing it in the twenty20 competition.
Often what can happen is a bowler will hand the batsmen a warning before actually knocking off the bails, but not on this occasion. Cape said he has warned batsmen in the past, but he has never seen, or carried out, a mankad before.
"It sits comfortably with me,” Cape said.
"If it was the same situation, I'd probably do it again.
"It wasn't touch and go or anything, it was about three metres.
"If it was 20cm or something like that it'd probably be different but when you're that far down the pitch, what do you do?
"Five or six times he kept walking down the pitch and he was literally two or three metres down the wicket.
"The first time I thought about it was when I was in my bowling stride about to bowl and saw he was down the wicket.
"Obviously in the T20 blokes are trying to get down the wicket and get a bit of an advantage...I wasn't going in thinking I was going to do it, but he was in my eyeline he was that far down.
"There was no malice or anything like that.”
North Ballarat Cricket Club did not wish to comment.
The MCC World Cricket committee tweaked the law this year to put the onus on the batsmen. Extending the point at which the run-out of the non-striker can be attempted to the instant at which the bowler would be expected to deliver the ball – in essence keeping the batsmen in his/her crease for longer.
The common opinion is often a negative one towards the bowler, yet it is the batsmen that is attempting to gain the advantage.
Ballarat Cricket Association operations officer Greg Wakeling said he had not seen a mankad for some 15 years.