The Mankad: a ruthless approach is required to win at international level

‘Mankading’ has yesterday staked its claim for entry into the OED. A word that until 24 hours ago was surely only used and understood by a small minority of cricket buffs is now on the tip of the tongue of every cricket fan, following Sachithra Senanayake’s dismissal of Jos Buttler by running him out at the non-striker’s end in the ODI series decider between Sri Lanka and England. Senanayake’s decision to do this, and his captain’s decision to uphold the appeal, has sparked controversy and divided the pundits, with several former England players taking to Twitter to vocalise their views. But in all honesty, I’m struggling to see what the controversy is about.

Yes, we don’t see the ‘mankad’ often, and yes, it’s perhaps a bit of a cheap shot. But crucially, it is completely within the rules of the game. Buttler knows this, Alastair Cook knows this, Peter Moores knows this. Comments that it’s ‘just not cricket’ do not fly, because actually, according to the ICC, it is. If we do not want to see it in international cricket, then it needs to be outlawed. But for as long as it is within the rules of the game, teams cannot be criticised for exploiting this rule. In no other sport do we have this unfounded differentiation between the rules and the ‘spirit’ of the game.

Sri Lanka did not engage in any foul play; in fact, to my mind, they displayed more leniency than they needed to by warning Jos Buttler two overs beforehand about straying out of his crease at the non-striker’s end. Because in international, professional sport, there is no room for letting your opponents off the hook. Ability must be coupled with opportunism and a certain ruthlessness in order to succeed at the highest level, and this is exactly what Sri Lanka have shown. Rather than describing it as a ‘pretty poor act’,  Cook would have done better to acknowledge that it is within the rules, to credit his opponent, and to ensure that his batsmen do not leave themselves vulnerable to the ‘mankad’ dismissal in the future – now that would have been the ‘spirit of cricket’.

Alexandra Kyrke-Smith