Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler believes it was “probably the wrong decision” to give him run out in their first game of the IPL 2019 season against Kings XI Punjab. The controversial ‘Mankading’ dismissal saw differing opinions from various cricketers and pundits alike. But he feels the current wording of the Laws governing run-outs at the non-striker’s end is in the grey area and requires further clarification.
Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler believes it was “probably the wrong decision” to give him run out in their first game of the IPL 2019 season against Kings XI Punjab. The controversial ‘Mankading’ dismissal saw differing opinions from various cricketers and pundits alike. But he feels the current wording of the Laws governing run-outs at the non-striker’s end is in the grey area and requires further clarification.
Buttler was run-out backing-up by KXIP skipper R Ashwin at a crucial moment of a match that Rajasthan went on to lose. He accepts that there has to be a place for such dismissals in the game, but feels the dismissal set “a bad precedent at the start of the tournament”.
“Of course a Mankading has to be in the Laws of the game because a batsman can’t just run halfway down the pitch trying to get a headstart,” he said in an interview to ESPNcricinfo. “But I do think, the way the law is written, there is a bit of a grey area in that saying ‘when a bowler is expected to release the ball’. That is a bit of a wishy-washy statement.”
The Law in question says, “If the non-striker is out of his/her ground at any time from the moment the ball comes into play until the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the non-striker is liable to be run out.”
In Buttler’s case, the phrase “expected release” played a crucial factor of debate. Ashwin approached the crease in normal fashion, but at no stage raised his arm to deliver the ball and seemed to pause while Buttler stepped out of the crease before dislodging the bails. Cricket’s law making body MCC “felt the pause was just too long and therefore not within the spirit of cricket.”
“If you look at the footage, probably the wrong decision was made because at the time he was expected to release the ball I was in my crease,” Buttler said.
Buttler was run-out backing-up by KXIP skipper R Ashwin at a crucial moment of a match that Rajasthan went on to lose. He accepts that there has to be a place for such dismissals in the game, but feels the dismissal set “a bad precedent at the start of the tournament”.
“Of course a Mankading has to be in the Laws of the game because a batsman can’t just run halfway down the pitch trying to get a headstart,” he said in an interview to ESPNcricinfo. “But I do think, the way the law is written, there is a bit of a grey area in that saying ‘when a bowler is expected to release the ball’. That is a bit of a wishy-washy statement.”
The Law in question says, “If the non-striker is out of his/her ground at any time from the moment the ball comes into play until the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the non-striker is liable to be run out.”
In Buttler’s case, the phrase “expected release” played a crucial factor of debate. Ashwin approached the crease in normal fashion, but at no stage raised his arm to deliver the ball and seemed to pause while Buttler stepped out of the crease before dislodging the bails. Cricket’s law making body MCC “felt the pause was just too long and therefore not within the spirit of cricket.”
“If you look at the footage, probably the wrong decision was made because at the time he was expected to release the ball I was in my crease,” Buttler said.