MCC cricket law changes: Mankad’s no longer ‘unfair’, saliva banned permanently

As part of a range of reforms to the laws, so-called Mankad dismissals, where a bowler runs out the non-striker if he leaves the popping crease before the ball is delivered, have been moved out of the section of the laws dealing with “unfair play”.

The law changes also permanently prohibit the use of saliva on the ball, which had been temporarily banned during the pandemic, give bowlers more leeway on wides when a batsmen is moving around the crease and stop the non-striker crossing to claim the strike when a batsman is out caught.

Mankading, named after Indian all-rounder Vinoo Mankad who used the method against Australia in 1947, has always been officially allowed within the laws but has often been the source of huge controversy, with many believing it is against the spirit of the game.

But from October 1, when the new laws come in, it will be moved from “unfair play” to the dismissals section on “run-outs”.

Fraser Stewart, the head of the laws department at MCC, the guardian of the sport’s laws, said: “It is a run-out but it has always been in the unfair play law and we questioned ‘why is it unfair?’

“The bowler is always painted as the villain but it is a legitimate way to dismiss someone and it is the non-striker who is stealing the ground.

“It is legitimate, it is a run-out and therefore it should live in the run-out section of the laws.

“Before this change, this was the only way you could be out that wasn’t in the dismissals section of the laws so this just moves to correct that.”

One of the most recent Mankad controversies came in the IPL three years ago when Ravichandran Ashwin ran out Jos Buttler. Shane Warne, an ambassador for Buttler’s team, the Rajasthan Royals, described it as a “disgraceful and low act”.

Other changes to the laws are designed to ensure the correct balance between bat and ball, but it will up to individual governing bodies whether they are fully adopted into their own playing regulations. For example, the T20 World Cup takes place in October and the ICC may decide to let that tournament run using the present laws and playing regulations before introducing them.

Use of saliva to shine the ball will now be permanently outlawed. MCC’s research found that not using saliva had little or no impact on the amount of swing the bowlers were generating. Instead, players have been using sweat to polish the ball on one side while keeping the other rough.

The new laws will not permit the use of saliva in any circumstances, and this will remove the grey area of fielders eating sugary sweets to help add sheen to one side of the ball. Using saliva will be treated in the same way as any other unfair method of changing the condition of the ball.

“It’s a matter of basic hygiene,” Stewart said. “The banning of saliva was part of playing regulations during Covid and we assessed it and there was very little impact in terms of how much the ball swings. It is a pretty unhygienic thing to do really, and we don’t think it will make any material difference and will shut the loopholes on use of sugary sweets.”

Deliveries down the leg side, which are deemed a wide in all limited-overs cricket, may not in future be penalised if the batsman moves their position in the crease.

It was felt unfair that a delivery might be called “wide” if it passes where the batter had been standing as the bowler entered their delivery stride. The law has, therefore, been amended so that a wide will apply to where the batter is standing or had been standing at any point since the bowler began their run-up and which would also have passed wide of the striker in a normal batting position.

For example, if a batsman stands outside leg stump and then moves across the crease, a ball that misses his legs may still not be a wide if it would not have missed his legs in his original position.

A law used in the inaugural edition of the Hundred last summer will now be adopted in the laws so that when a batsman is out caught, the new batsman will always face the next delivery unless it is the end of the over. At present, if batsmen cross while the ball is in the air, the non-striker faces the next delivery.

In further changes, if a fielder moves unfairly the batting side will be given a five-run penalty. At present it is merely a call of dead ball.

The introduction of these news laws is the first serious change since the significant update in 2017. The laws of cricket apply to all forms of cricket and all age-groups but can be adapted by each governing body in their own playing regulations.

– The Times