Jos Buttler claims he'd “call the batsman back” after a Mankad in World Cup final

England white-ball skipper Jos Buttler has maintained his stance over running out a batter for backing up at the non-striker’s end.
 
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“No, I am calling the batsman back.”

Charlotte Dean’s dismissal in the third and final England Women vs India Women ODI at Lord’s on Saturday, September 24, continues to spark debates over the mode of dismissal.

With England needing 17 off 39 with their last wicket remaining, India all-rounder Deepti Sharma ran Dean out at the non-striker’s end after the latter had backed up, helping complete India’s 3-0 clean sweep in Jhulan Goswami’s farewell series.

The mode of dismissal, still informally labelled as “Mankad” after former India all-rounder Vinoo Mankad’s act to dismiss Australia’s Bill Brown in the second Test in Sydney during the 1947-48 tour Down Under, has had former and present cricketers divided over the years.

Jos Buttler was asked on talkSPORT what he thought of running out the non-striker for backing up, and what would his reaction be if his bowler does that in a World Cup final against Ashes rivals Australia. The England white-ball skipper had a stern response.

“No, I am calling the batsman back,” Buttler said.

“No one wants to see them in the game because they always create such a talking point when it should be about the battle between bat and ball and watching great games of cricket. They always seem to happen at unsavoury times.”

It is noteworthy that the MCC, in its statement over the dismissal following the game, stated: "Whilst yesterday was indeed an unusual end to an exciting match, it was properly officiated and should not be considered as anything more”.

Buttler was himself at the receiving end of the mode of dismissal, when Ravichandran Ashwin had ran him out in an IPL 2019 encounter between the Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, before the two would reunite at the latter franchise ahead of the 2022 edition.

The 32-year-old believed that a rule had to exist to prevent batters from gaining an “unfair advantage”, but demanded the “grey areas” be addressed.

“I understand you have to have the rule there so people can’t just gain an unfair advantage, but I think they should re-word it because the way the law is written gives a lot of grey areas – with the “expected to bowl” part so maybe if they just tightened that up.”