Melbourne Stars coach David Hussey has slammed Adam Zampa’s botched Mankad attempt insisting it was ‘not the right way to play cricket’.
The Aussie spinner was the villain in Tuesday night’s Melbourne derby as he tried to run out Renegade batters Tom Rogers at the non-striker’s end in the Big Bash clash at the MCG.
With Renegades 7-139 and two balls to spare in their final over, Zampa bailed out the non-striker’s end with Rogers barely out of the batting crease.
David Hussey has slammed Adam Zampa for his controversial attempt at Mankad on Tuesday night
TV umpire Shawn Craig, however, did not send Rogers off after the reigning Stars skipper completed his action without dropping the ball.
And speaking after his side’s 33-run loss, Hussey revealed he was prepared to withdraw the appeal if the TV umpire had not intervened.
‘Had it been granted, we would have withdrawn our appeal anyway,’ he told Fox Cricket.
‘This is not the right way to play cricket.’
Zampa was booed by an MCG crowd of mostly Stars fans and his actions sparked debate among Fox Cricket and Channel 7 pundits.
Former Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin suggested Zampa ‘should have warned’ Rogers before his attempt.
‘I think Zampa was fouled off the ball then when Rogers went in and out and Harvey got a strike,’ he said.
I didn’t think we would see it [an attempted Mankad in the BBL] Actually.’
Zampa (right) attempts to run out Tom Rogers at the non-striker’s end at the MCG
Zampa took the bails off Mankad the Renegades tailender who was not back up
On-field umpire Gerard Abood explained to Zampa TV umpire Shawn Craig that Rogers was not sent off after ruling that the Stars skipper had completed his action without releasing the ball.
Meanwhile, Brett Lee has suggested that it is time for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to scrap the controversial rule once and for all.
‘If he [Zampa] pass where he intended to release the ball there […] it’s considered that you can’t really Mankad the batsman,’ the former Aussie quickly said during the innings break.
‘I don’t like that rule, I don’t like the Mankad rule at all, I think they should take it off their hands.
‘The best way to do it is to tell the batsman, if you leave your crease, you can dock five runs. Keep it away from the bowler […] I just don’t want to see that in a game of cricket.’
Rogers protested his innocence to Abood after Zampa removed the bails
Over on Channel 7, Victoria great Brad Hodge struck a similar tone. ‘Regardless of the laws, I don’t like it [the Mankad] everything,’ he said.
‘I don’t think Rogers is trying to get an advantage’.
Like Lee and Hodge, former Sydney Thunder captain Callum Ferguson is also no fan of the law but suggested batters should be more cautious.
England’s T20 World Cup winner Liam Livingstone was not a fan of Zampa’s errant Mankad
‘I don’t like the law,’ he said. ‘But it’s fair game in my eyes, whether I like it or not.’
Meanwhile, England’s T20 World Cup winner Liam Livingstone expressed his disdain for Zampa’s wrongful dismissal by retweeting a clip of the incident accompanied by a couple of puking emojis.
At the same venue last week, Mitchell Starc warned South African batsman Theunis de Bruyn about backing up in the second Test between Australia and the Proteas.
Mitchell Starc (left) warns South African batsman Theunis de Bruyn (right) about backing up during the second Test between Australia and the Proteas at the MCG last week
‘I said something to him last night because he was doing it yesterday. And then he was halfway down Punt Road when I was stopped,’ the Aussie said quickly.
‘He said he didn’t mean to. I have to keep my foot behind the line, to at least keep your bat behind the line.’
One of the most controversial methods of dismissal, Mankading has sparked debate in cricket since it was first deployed by Indian bowler Vidoo Mankad during the 1947 tour of Australia.
Mankad ran out Australian batter Bill Brown by taking the bails off the non-striker’s end after Brown came out of his crease well.
In October last year, the ICC changed its Mankading rules so that it was no longer classified as ‘Unfair Play’ but a form of ‘Run Out’.
A controversial dismissal has always been considered a legal and fair method of dismissing a batter under the Marylebone Cricket Club Laws of Cricket.
Law 41.16.1 of the MCC code states that: ‘If the non-striker is not on his ground at any time from the moment the ball is in play to the moment the bowler would normally be expected to deliver the ball, the non-striker is liable to run out.
‘In these circumstances, the non-striker will be out Run out if he is out of his ground when his wicket is brought down by the bowler throwing the ball on the stumps or by the bowler’s hand holding the ball. , whether the ball is given or not.’
