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 Is there anything that divides opinions more than "mankading"?
When England's Joss Buttler was run out at the non-striker's end while backing up in an ODI, the range of reactions went from "quite right!" to "downright cheating!".
Whatever you opinion, there are some important coaching lessons we can glean.
Making a stand: The culture of mankading in your club
Unlike a well-timed drive, the mankad is not universally admired by players and coaches. It's this cultural fact that must inform how we approach it in our games.
That's a vital point, because without developing a conscious culture around these kind of practices (also see walking, appealing, and sledgin ) we risk defaulting to an unconsidered, uncomfortable consensus that at the least makes playing the game less fun and at the worst takes a chunk from the very Spirit of Cricket itself.
To be clear though, this is about spirit rather than Law. Law 42 even makes a point of it:
"The bowler is permitted, before entering his delivery stride, to attempt to run out the non-striker."
But those who frown on the practice say that it's about playing the game the way it was intended.
As I see it there are three positions you need to consider for your bowlers:
- "If the batsman is out of his ground he is fair game the same as a stumping. I will execute a run out and be perfectly within the Laws of the game."
- "I don't want to do it, but if I think the batsman is trying it on I will run him out after a warning."
- "It's never acceptable. Cricket is the challenge between bowler and striker, the non-striker is just waiting his turn."
Each case has it's supporters. You will find that even in your team there will be all three of these views. So, it's good to discuss such matters and come to your team conclusions about what you are going to do if the situation arises.
In the field, it's worth having a player who is keeping an eye out for the non-striker pinching ground. Everyone agrees that this is unacceptable, even if there is debate over the degree of distance taken. Those who fully support mankading can execute it.
Those who are against it totally can speak with the umpire about the batsman who is taking liberties. The umpire can award 5 penalty runs if they feel the batsman is trying to steal a run (Law 42).
Either way, it's good to be aware and active rather than passive and ignoring the problem, as many do, so as not cause a fuss.
When you are batting, decide on your approach to backing up. There is a lot of grey area between leaning on your bat and trying to steal a run. Decide how far into the dark you want to go, and what the risk is that you will be mankaded.
Very sharp operators will know the bowlers who can't bring themselves to run out a batsman. The door is open to set off as early as you like. But that's not for everyone.
You can play safe and still back up effectively though. Simply moving out as the bowler enters his delivery stride will get you a yard down the wicket with no danger of being run out.
Coaching the mankad: Ignoring is not a option
With the senior culture broadly in place, you can filter the same points into your coaching setup. It's sensible to do so as if you ignore it you will get a problem.
Young players often back up at the non-striker's end too far. For most this is simply because they don't understand the nuance of the Law and are simply full of high spirits to "run the first run quickly" as they have been told.
A mankading to an unaware player is devastating, especially the younger, less mature kids.
So, when that happens in your middle practice, freeze the game. Gather in the boys and girls and talk through what they think is right and how to combat the problem.
I would say that the answer is simple: No matter what your view on mankading, you can stop it by staying in your crease until the ball is bowled.
There are 2 ways to do this yet still back up:
- Start outside the crease, with your bat behind the line as if you are turning for a second run.
- Walking out of your crease as the bowler arrives so you are moving down the wicket as the ball reaches the batsman.
Either way works fine to fairly gain ground and it's personal preference.
But whatever you talk about in those few moments, and reiterate over the coming season, it's important to be consistent across the club. If your youth coaches insist mankading is always unfair, and your senior teams are happy to mankad, kids will ignore the coach.
The bottom line with the Buttler incident is the bottom line in every mankad case: Had the batsman been a little more aware it would not have happened.
So, whatever your morality, come to a conclusion about the practice, stick with it across the board and coach sensible play into everyone.
Maybe then the practice will die out because nobody falls for it anymore.
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