Australia are nearing a series-clinching victory against South Africa in the second Test in Melbourne. After bowling the Proteas out on 189, Australia posted a mammoth score of 575/8 in their first innings; in return, South Africa's poor outing with the bat continued as they lost half of their batting lineup on 128, and facing an innings-defeat at the MCG. While the match has remained largely one-sided so far, tempers flared during Day 4 of the game when Mitchell Starc paused in his delivery stride to warn batter Theunis de Bruyn against leaving the crease at the non-striker's end.
The mode of dismissal, more commonly and informally known as the ‘Mankad’, has been used by multiple players in the recent past and even though the ruling doesn't mandate a prior warning to the batter, a host of cricketers prefer to do so.
As Starc warned de Bruyn, he could also be heard giving the batter a piece of his mind on the Stump mic. “Stay in the crease. It's not that hard. It's (the crease) there for a reason mate!” Starc said.
In the recent past, India women's all-rounder Deepti Sharma caused a furore when she ran Charlotte Dean out at the non-striker's end for England's final wicket in an ODI at Lord's, that also resulted in India winning the game and the series. Many former and current English cricketers were critical of Deepti despite the dismissal being legal.
{{/usCountry}}In the recent past, India women's all-rounder Deepti Sharma caused a furore when she ran Charlotte Dean out at the non-striker's end for England's final wicket in an ODI at Lord's, that also resulted in India winning the game and the series. Many former and current English cricketers were critical of Deepti despite the dismissal being legal.
{{/usCountry}}India men's off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been a champion for the dismissal for a long time. He used the ‘Mankad’ to dismiss Jos Buttler in the 2019 Indian Premier League that had caused a similar outrage at the time.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) had recently had tweaked the laws, after which this mode of dismissal was re-termed as 'run-out'. Later, the MCC had also reacted to Deepti Sharma's episode, stating “MCC's message to non-strikers continues to be to remain in their ground until they have seen the ball leave the bowler's hand. Then dismissals, such as the one seen yesterday, cannot happen.”