'They did not even look her in the eye' - James Anderson slams Deepti Sharma, India women's team

Charlotte Deanâs dismissal in the third and final ODI between India Women and England Women at Lordâs last week continues to ignite debates and discussions. Deepti ran a well-set Dean out for backing up at the non-strikerâs end, completing a 16-run win and with it a 3-0 series sweep for the visitors.
There have been ranging remarks on the incident since, from players, experts and fans alike, and James Anderson continues to maintain his stance on the mode of dismissal.
The veteran England quick, at the time of the dismissal, had tweeted: âWill never understand why players feel the need to do this. Is she stealing the ground?â
In another tweet, he stated, in agreement with Sam Billings, âSpot on. No intention of bowling the ball.â
Will never understand why players feel the need to do this. Is she stealing ground? pic.twitter.com/KJi1Rgzmdi
â James Anderson (@jimmy9) September 24, 2022
Spot on. No intention of bowling the ball đ€Ź
â James Anderson (@jimmy9) September 24, 2022
When asked for his take on the subject on BBCâs Tailenders Podcast, Anderson had a straightforward response.
âWell, you know what? I thought, âI knew we were going to talk about this todayâ,â he said. âSo, on the train, on the way down, I thought âright, Iâm going to just get my thoughts together and try and eloquently lay my views out for everyoneâ. Within 30 seconds of thinking about it, I was fuming. It just infuriates me and I think itâs because Iâve been brought up in teams where we just wouldnât even consider doing something like that. And yes, itâs in the laws of the game right now and they have obviously changed it so itâs now a run-out,â Anderson said on BBCâs Tailenders Podcast.
âI think now I really hope that players stay in their crease, just donât give people the option of doing it. I feel so much for Charlie Dean because she got herself in a position where she could have possibly won the game for England. She managed the game situation brilliantly, I donât think she was trying to steal a run, she just drifted and that is a natural thing for the batter to do, to walk along with the bowler.â
Anderson further pointed out that Deepti had it all pre-planned, and that she wasnât keen on bowling the ball and was focused on running the batter out. He also remarked that there mightâve been a guilt among the Indian players on the dismissal, adding that it âleft a bitter tasteâ for him.
âThe issue for me was that Deepti was never thinking about bowling that ball. She was watching Charlie Dean the whole way and the moment she stepped out; she ran her out. That is what frustrates me about that dismissal. There has been a chat about giving warnings and the England camp talked about how there were no warnings. I donât see it as a legitimate dismissal when I play cricket. Where is the skill in that? It is just a sneaky way of getting someone out, I do not like it.
âCharlie Dean was in tears, the handshake from the Indian team, there was no compassion there. They did not even look her in the eye, if there was guilt about the dismissal, then donât do it then. India had won the series; it was not as if the series was on the line. It left a bitter taste for me, I donât know. It is not about being me an England player, if I was watching the match between two neutral teams, I still would not have liked it,â
Anderson further believed that instead of ruling the batter out, it would be better off if the batting side are penalised runs after a warning if the non-striker backs up.
âI donât think batters should go down the pitch when the ball has not even delivered, but I donât think it should be a dismissal, there should be a warning or there can be penalty runs. That would be a better solution to it, just give them a couple of warnings,â said Anderson.