Something bizarre has happened in the 12th edition of the ongoing Big Bash League and yet again the rules and the spirit of the game are in question. You got it right, the old & famous Mankading controversy has returned yet again. In the 27th match of the BBL that is being contested between the Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades, Adam Zampa tried to 'Mankad' Renegades batter Thomas Rogers. The appeal was later overturned by the third umpire.
Melbourne Stars won the toss and opt to bowl at the mighty MCG. Renegades while batting first scored a total of 141 runs at the loss of 7 wickets at the end of 20 overs. The controversial incident happened in the 20th over when Aussie spinner Zampa was bowling to Mackenzie Harvey. Thomas Rogers was at the non-striker's end and Zampa in his delivery stride decided to 'Mankad' aka run out Thomas Rogers. The appeal was referred to the television umpire who decided it to be not out.
Why was it not out?
If the non-striker is out of his/her ground at any time from the moment the ball comes into play until the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the non-striker is liable to be Run out. In these circumstances, the non-striker will be out Run out if he/she is out of his/her ground when his/her wicket is put down by the bowler throwing the ball at the stumps or by the bowler’s hand holding the ball, whether or not the ball is subsequently delivered. In this scenario, Zampa's delivery arm went past the vertical of his head ane hence the decision was set to be not out.
Soon after the event, netizens started comparing Zampa to the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Deepti Sharma. India cricketer Deepti Sharma inflicted a similar kind of dismissal upon England's Charlie Dean that ignited multiple controversies regarding the matter.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Melbourne Stars XI: Joe Clarke (wk), Thomas Rogers, Beau Webster, Marcus Stoinis, Hilton Cartwright, Nick Larkin, Campbell Kellaway, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Luke Wood, Trent Boult, Adam Zampa (c)
Melbourne Renegades XI: Martin Guptill, Sam Harper (wk), Aaron Finch (c), Shaun Marsh, Jonathan Wells, Mackenzie Harvey, Will Sutherland, Akeal Hosein, Tom Rogers, Kane Richardson, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
