England captain Heather Knight has confirmed her side’s stance on the Mankad mode of dismissal after Katherine Brunt opted not to run out Sune Luus in the last over of South Africa’s six-wicket T20 World Cup win over England.
With seven runs required off the last four balls, Luus, the non-striker, was out of her ground as Brunt approached the crease in her run-up. Brunt pulled out of her run-up to seemingly give Luus a warning for backing up too much. She did not, however, take the bails off and run out Luus.
The following ball was hit for six and South Africa eventually won the game with two balls left spare. Under the laws of the game, there was no requirement for Brunt to give Luus a warning.
Under the tournament’s playing conditions, Law 41.16 states: “If the non-striker is out of her ground from the moment the ball comes into play to the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the bowler is permitted to attempt to run her out.
With the game on the line, Katherine Brunt could have dismissed Sune Luus at the non-striker's end, but opted not to. Moments later Mignon du Preez blasted a game-defining six.
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— ICC (@ICC) February 23, 2020
Brunt herself could have been on the end of a Mankad dismissal during England’s innings when South Africa seamer Ayabonga Khaka pulled out of her delivery stride with Brunt backing up from the crease. After the match, Khaka’s teammate Marizanne Kapp tweeted: “Ayabonga Khaka did exactly the same while Brunt was batting, fair play from both teams.”
Speaking ahead of England’s second group stage game against Thailand, Knight stated that running the batter out at the non-striker’s end is not something she wants to see her team doing.
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“I think, a bit of context from the other night, Katherine Brunt was slightly out of the ground and [Ayabonga] Khaka didn’t Mankad her, rightly so,” said Knight. “I think if someone is, so to speak, taking the piss, and going halfway down the wicket, then, obviously, if there’s a warning, I think there’s a place for the rule. But no, that’s not something we want to do as a team.
“We want to win through our cricket and through our skill and I don’t think Mankad involves a lot of skill.”
