Non-striker’s run out? Fair enough, says Peter Kirsten
While those like Ravichandran Ashwin strongly believe that batters are out to steal inches, and therefore gain advantage, Kirsten feels that may not always be the case.
Three decades after he was caught on the wrong foot at the non-striker’s end by Kapil Dev in an ODI in Port Elizabeth, former South Africa batter Peter Kirsten joined a growing group of cricketers who were okay with MCC normalising such a dismissal.
“If it's the done thing, fair enough. It’s just another dismissal,” said Kirsten. “Batters are more aware now. You pay a fine, if you are out of the crease.”
While those like Ravichandran Ashwin strongly believe that batters are out to steal inches, and therefore gain advantage, Kirsten feels that may not always be the case.
“In my case, I was not trying to steal ground,” Kirsten said “Kapil did warn me twice. I was a bit naive. We were newly reintroduced in international cricket and no such thing was ever discussed in the change room. The umpire did come to me to say, ‘You may get into trouble, stay in your crease’. I did not adhere to the warning.”
Still, the general impression at the time was—Stuart Broad and many others still think so—that it was an unfair way of getting a wicket. The commentators called it an “unfortunate dismissal”, Kirsten kept ranting in frustration on his way back to the pavilion and the home crowd booed India. The cameras captured Dev, quite animated, justifying his action because he had warned the batter.
While Kirsten is fine with the law, he still prefers the bowler to warn the batter. “I do a lot of coaching and kids, at an impressionable age, copy these things. So, it’s an interesting one. As long as the batter is warned, it's fine.”
“I met Kapil a few years later. It was the first time a match was being played in a game reserve and lo behold, it was Kapil and me. We had a little chat. He told me that we were both getting old at that time.”