Of Mankadding and Whingeing Poms…

Can’t remember the last time a cricket match hasn’t put me to sleep before 3am. This one didn’t. Thanks Sachithra, for bringing some entertainment back into cricket.

What happened?

Bowling the 44th over of the innings, the beleagured Sachithra Senanayake, who has warned Jos Buttler twice for straying out of his crease, knocked the bails off the non-striker’s wicket and ‘appealed’ to the umpire. I use the word appealed because it wasn’t a normal appeal, it was a more defiant ‘what the fuck are you gonna do about it now?’ appeal, which took the umpire aback as well. Dazed and confused, the umpire consulted Angelo Mathews, and then lifted his finger. Buttler walked off, shaking his head in what could only have been disbelief. Probably at his own impunity.

What’s the problem?

Nothing really. Except a healthy dose of English hypocrisy.

The consensus is that what Sachithra did was perfectly legitimate. He was not into his delivery swing when the bails were taken off, and the batsman was clearly out of his ground. The offence was clearly established. The actus reus.

The less obvious part is the mens rea. Is it legal to run a batsman out in this way? Yes, it is. Undoubtedly. Is it sporting to run a batsman out in this way? It depends. On a number of circumstances.

The Issues

A batsman standing out of his ground is attempting to gain an advantage by having to run less distance between the stumps, in taking a one or a two, or even a three. The distance between the two popping creases for a run to be scored is just under 19.5 yards, or just under 60 ft. So if a batsman wanders a couple of yards out of his ground, he has commensurately less to run. If you look at the Chester-le-Street dismissal of Jayawardena, he was out run-out attempting a third. Marginally. By a matter of inches. If he had backed up a little further before the bowler bowled, he would have been home easily. That is the wafer thin margin upon which games are decided. And if Buttler, or any other batsman taking quick runs, is ‘home’ by an inch or two when the keeper/bowler whips off the bails, it could decide a game. Which is why it’s important that the batsman doesn’t get a ‘foul start’. Usain Bolt wouldn’t like it if Asafa Powell wandered down the track before the starter’s pistol now would he?

So the issue is not a trivial one. How often have we seen a pair of fit, athletic batsmen shun boundary hitting for the scampered twos and threes, which could give you 8 runs an over with limited risk? Pretty often, if they are capable of it. In that case, it is important that this strategy is able to be countered by the fielding side, by ensuring that the batsmen are exploiting only their fitness, and not the anachronistic niceties of the game.

If Buttler is quick enough to get across for a quick single, that’s great. But if he isn’t, and gets across because he started out well before the ball was bowled, then that’s not acceptable because he is not giving the fielding side equal opportunity. Fielders can only walk forward and cannot move or switch positions once the bowler is in his run up. This is so the batsman knows where the field is before he sets himself to play the ball. Therefore, why should a batsman be allowed to ‘move’ and start taking a run [the very act that wins matches] before the ball is in play? He shouldn’t. Plain and simple.

The Spirit of Cricket

The spirit of cricket – which really shouldn’t be above the spirit of any other game – has been bandied about by the Whingeing Poms holding a brief for Jos Buttler’s antics. The batsman was warned  – sportingly – not once, but twice, including in the last game where he got a brilliant hundred. Whether he continued wandering out of his ground with intent or without is immaterial, as his impunity is completely against playing the game fairly.

If Buttler had attempted a quick single from that Senanayake delivery, and escaped a run out attempt by less than the distance he was out of his ground when the ball was bowled, then that is a far greater offence than any affront that Senanayake may have committed.

Yes, in a similar situation http://www.espncricinfo.com/commonwealth-bank-series-2012/content/story/554756.html Virender Sehwag called Thirimanne back. But he wasn’t required to do that and captain Jaywardena admitted that Thirimanne was at fault. Also Sehwag admits that he did it because he was ‘soft’. And I for one am glad that Mathews was not soft, and bow down to the colonial hangover of bending over backwards to accommodate the spirit of cricket which Buttler was abusing in the first place.

The Rationale

Admittedly, it’s not a fun way to get out. Backing up is one of those things that happens. However, although Mankadding has happened about 8 times in modern cricket, you’re actually more likely to see a backing up batsman given run out off the bowlers foot or palm, if the striker drives it back straight and it deflects on to the stumps. For me, that sort of accidental, unintentional quirk of fate, should be looked on with much more empathy than willful transgression in the face of a warning. A batsman is well entitled to be out of his ground after the ball is bowled, and his partner is more responsible for his wicket than the bowler. Yet, nobody blinks an eye when a batsman is out in this fashion.

Why should Buttler’s situation be different? Wander out of your crease at your peril, and suffer the consequences. Batsmen make a quick, unconscious cost benefit analysis and will take the odds which are in their favour.

From a fielding side’s perspective, the issue – and especially in this particular case – cannot be taken in isolation. Sri Lanka had already been burned by Bopara and Buttler who according to Jayawardena, took 22 twos in the last 12 overs of the 4th ODI nearly taking England to a win. Those twos were possible because both batsmen were taking head starts. It almost made the difference between winning and losing, and Sri Lanka would be damned if they allowed it again. They did the sporting thing which was to warn both batsmen, and warn Buttler again in this game. Errant children stealing candy from a bottle, get a much shorter leash from their mothers, so why should Buttler be given endless reprieves. He is, after all, a professional sportsman.

Lasith Malinga bowled Gary Ballance neck and crop in the last game, but overstepped the crease by a fraction. The overstep did not result in the ball beating Ballance, but it was the brilliance of the ball itself. Malinga didn’t overstep by a foot or two, it was a an inch over the line, which gives him no material advantage. Yet, the cartwheeling stump is put back and Ballance continues, with a free hit mind you, because adherence to the line is a rule, and rules must be followed.

Jayawardena echoed captain Mathews’ post match sentiments when he said this:

“We gave him a fair chance.Twice. Before the first warning, we told the umpires that he was taking too much of a lead and then he was warned again. We had to do that, because they kept doing it.

“We analysed our game after Lord’s. They took 22 twos in the last 12 overs. Ravi Bopara and him ran riot. And most of the time they were taking starts that are not legal by the written laws. We just wanted to make sure we got a fair chance. We warned them and we warned the umpires, but they didn’t listen to us, so we had to take the right steps.

“We always try to play in the right spirit, but if the other team is not playing in the right spirit and not going with the law, then unfortunately we had to take the law into our hands. It was the third time. It is fair enough, I think. We all need to play by the rules.

“If the other sides are not going by the rules, then they’re not playing by the spirit, so what can you do?”

Angelo also told Nick Knight that if the umpires don’t take control, the fielding team is left with little choice. Anyone who’s understood the fine line between winning and losing, will empathise.

Double Standards

After seeing this incident, to which I was referred to by a mate, I think it’s pretty reprehensible that Alistair Cook is willfully ignorant of the double standards he expects to be upheld: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_MGBd_z_Sk&feature=share

In this incident Sidebottom squarely runs into the batsman’s path. The fact that England had to even discuss before not appealing is shocking. But it goes to show what teams would do in order to win. What Senanayake did is far, far less objectionable, IF it was objectionable at all. Which I don’t think it was.

So Ali Cook’s sanctimony, and also his little parting shot at Mathews after the game, has a very ‘my shit don’t stink’ air about it. How he thinks Mathews will be successfully intimidated by someone as pretty as him I don’t know, but it should set the Test series up nicely. Since the violent outburst at Glenn Maxwell in Australia [which I found distasteful], Sri Lanka have shown that they will not be taking a step back in order to remain the ‘nice guys’ of international cricket. That is the attitudinal shift that the Windies of yore speak of in ‘Fire in Babylon’. And it is the kind of stuff good teams are forged of. I, for one, am very pleased.

Sure, it doesn’t have the romance and grace of Courtney Walsh in ’87 http://www.espncricinfo.com/wctimeline/content/story/500463.html, but the fact is, if Jaffar did it again, Walsh would certainly have run him out. But then, cricket is not nearly as romantic and graceful as it was even 20 years ago.

Surprising English Reaction

It appears that Englishmen become much less whingey when they become commentators. Nasser Hussain, who was a right – royal git on the field as captain, had no hesitation in immediately condemning Collingwood’s decision in the Sidebottom incident. Mike ‘Sand in my pocket’ Atherton also had little trouble finding that the fault lay with Buttler, as did David Lloyd. There was, pleasantly, a surprising objectivity to the way the usually myopic English commentators (most of them), looked at the incident.

Cook’s cry-baby number, and the Edgbaston public’s continued chorus of boos, is therefore even more difficult to sympathise with. Hopefully the passage of a few days will give them more perspective.

Sachithra’s actions were far more ‘cricket’ [as opposed to not being cricket] than stealing a coach from under the touring team’s nose on the eve of a tour. I’m sure there would have been some satisfied handshakes with Paul Farbrace last evening.