How about awarding wicket to bowler for presence of mind: Ashwin

NEW DELHI: Premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday said that wickets ought to be credited to the bowlers’ accounts when they run out batters at the non-striker’s end for backing up too far, as it requires presence of mind.

Going by the ICC manual, India all-rounder Deepti Sharma’s run out of Charlie Dean in the third ODI in London on Saturday was perfectly legal, but it still divided opinion with many backing it while Englishmen, such as Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Sam Billings, expressing their annoyance.

Joining in the debate, Ashwin, who has often objected to these kind of run outs being termed ‘Mankading’ (named after former India player Vinoo Mankad), recommended a bravery award for the bowler.

Responding to a tweet by Billings who asked Anderson, “Imagine how many more wickets you could get James,” Ashwin wrote on his Twitter handle, “In fact that’s a great idea. How about awarding that wicket to the bowler for presence of mind under immense pressure and of course knowing the social stigma that he/she would have to deal with post doing it. How about a bravery award to go with it too.”

MCC says run-out decision was “properly” made

The MCC, the guardian of the laws of cricket, on Sunday stamped its seal of approval on Deepti Sharma’s run out of Charlotte Dean. “Whilst yesterday (Saturday) was indeed an unusual end to an exciting match, it was properly officiated and should not be considered as anything more,” the MCC said.