“India were deserved winners. But no warnings were given. They don’t need to be given, so it hasn’t made the dismissal any less legitimate. But if they’re comfortable with the decision to affect the run out, India shouldn’t feel the need to justify it by lying about warnings” – Knight
Last Updated: 26/09/22 12:01pm
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India claimed an ODI series whitewash with a controversial ending that resulted in Deepti Sharma ‘Mankading’ Charlie Dean
Injured England skipper Heather Knight has accused India bowler Deepti Sharma of ‘lying’ over claims Charlie Dean was warned before her ‘Mankad’ dismissal on Saturday.
Dean was run out at the non-striker’s end as England attempted to close in on an unlikely victory, having been 115-9 but with Dean comfortable at the crease on 47, before Sharma took the bails off after entering her delivery stride.
The ‘Mankad’ dismissal was upheld by the third umpire and sealed a 16-run win and 3-0 series sweep for India, with Dean throwing her bat to the ground in tears as boos rang out from the crowd at the manner of the victory.
“It was a plan, because we had warned her [for leaving the crease early] repeatedly,” Sharma told reporters upon the team’s arrival in Kolkata.
“We did things as per the rules and guidelines.
“We told the umpires as well, but she was there [outside the crease]. We couldn’t do much.”
England captain Knight, currently out with a hip-joint injury, has taken to Twitter to refute the claims.
“The game is over, Charlie was dismissed legitimately. India were deserved winners of the match and the series. But no warnings were given,” she wrote.
“They don’t need to be given, so it hasn’t made the dismissal any less legitimate.
“But if they’re comfortable with the decision to affect the run out, India shouldn’t feel the need to justify it by lying about warnings.”
ESPNcricinfo analyst Peter Della Penna has since reviewed Dean’s entire innings back, finding that she left her crease early a total of 72 times on Saturday.
Atherton: Onus for Mankad dismissal was on England’s Charlie Dean
Sky Sports Cricket’s Michael Atherton said post-match…
“It’s pretty simple as far as I’m concerned. The onus is on the non-striker to stay in your ground until the ball is released. That is the law of the game.
“I always find it odd when ‘Mankads’ happen. It’s historically associated with something underhand, but whenever it happens, the focus always falls on the fielding side and the bowler as if they’ve done something wrong.
“A ‘Mankad’ cannot happen if the non-striker stays in their ground. And that’s where the onus falls.
“In fact, the MCC have issued a statement to say the game was properly officiated.
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Former England captain and Sky Sports Cricket pundit Michael Atherton says the solution to the controversial ‘Mankad’ is simple – it cannot happen if the non-striker stays in their ground
“I don’t think anybody would doubt that it was a miserable end to the game.
“The game was bubbling up into a fine conclusion, England were really struggling, I think they were 115-9 at one stage, it was a lovely recovery, which Charlie Dean was right at the heart of, and it looked as though they might have a chance of winning. And that’s when ‘Mankads’ usually happen! When the run chase is tight.
“And there’s no question Deepti Sharma was looking for the opportunity. But Charlie Dean gave her the opportunity by being out of her grounds.
“From the moment that front foot landed, you could see she [Dean] was marginally out of her ground, so that when the arm would have come over at the expected point of release, she would have been a little bit further out of her ground.
“So the message is clear really: if you’re a non-striker at the non-striker’s end, you stay in your ground until you see the ball released, and this thing can never happen.
“The debate will never happen, and all the outpouring of emotion on social media can’t happen. It’s simple, stay in your ground.
“The law is absolutely clear.”
Greenway: It doesn’t feel like right way to win a game
Sky Sports Cricket’s Lydia Greenway said post-match…
“It just doesn’t feel like the right way to win a game.
“The first thing to say is, they’re allowed to do that. They’re well within their rights to get a wicket that way.
“The way in which it’s managed I would disagree with. If I was captain of that team, I would say lets give them a warning, and then make sure that Charlie Dean is aware of what she’s doing.
“Because as youngsters growing up playing the game, you’re taught to back-up, and if you look at Charlie Dean backing up, she was just focussed on what was happening at the other end.
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Former England cricketers Lydia Greenway and Dominic Cork discuss India’s decision to run out Dean at the non-striker’s end, securing their victory in the last one-day international of the summer at Lord’s
“I don’t think she was trying to gain an unfair advantage.
“She was just simply focussing on what was in hand. She was just looking at what’s happening, literally turned around and Deepti Sharma has decided to do that, which, we must say, she is allowed to do.
“What I would have liked to have seen is a warning, if I was the Indian captain.
“And I would be disappointed if England had done the same and didn’t give a warning.”