Over the years, ‘Mankading’ has led to some intense debates owing to the ‘spirit of the game’. However, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has decided to make a huge change in terms of the rules of the game, with ‘Mankading’ being removed from the ‘Unfair Play’ section and now it has been moved to the ‘Run Out’ section. One of the most uncommon forms of dismissal, Mankading has often generated divided opinions in the cricketing fraternity. 

While some feel that the form of dismissal should be made illegal, there are those too who have called for it to be further strengthened. Explaining the logic behind the shift from the ‘unfair’ section to ‘run out, the MCC Laws Manager, Fraser Steward said: “It is a run-out but it has always been in the unfair play law and we questioned ‘why is it unfair?’ The bowler is always painted as the villain but it is a legitimate way to dismiss someone and it is the non-striker who is stealing the ground.”

The laws manager explained the decision even further, saying it is a legitimate form of dismissal that has been unfairly criticized.

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Steward elaborated, “It is legitimate, it is a run-out and therefore it should live in the run-out section of the laws. “Before this change, this was the only way you could be out that wasn’t in the dismissals section of the laws so this just moves to correct that.”

A few other changes were also made in the laws by the MCC, with the usage of saliva to shine the ball getting banned permanently. Earlier, it was only a suspension, which was brought into place keeping the Covid-19 situation in mind. But now, lawmakers have been considering it as a ‘hygiene’ issue, and hence, have decided to bar the player from using saliva forever.

MCC law manager also explained, “It’s a matter of basic hygiene. The banning of saliva was part of playing regulations during Covid and we assessed it and there was very little impact in terms of how much the ball swings.”

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The updated ruling will now come into effect from October 01. As per the reports of India Today, here is the detailed list of the changes in the MCC Laws:

Replacement Players: The MCC has introduced a new clause – Law 1.3 which is regarding the replacement players. The replacements are now be treated as if they were the players they replaced on the field. They will receive the sanctions or dismissals that the player has done in that match.

Strike rotation: The MCC has decided to make a huge change to another law as according to Law 18.11, when a batter gets caught, the player who comes to bat will start at the striker’s end (unless it is the end of an over). Earlier, if the batters crossed before the catch was taken then the new batter would go to the non-strikers’ end but the law has changed to reward the bowler for taking the wicket. 

Mankading no longer unfair: The “Mankad” dismissal involves a bowler whipping off the bails when a non-striker steps out of the crease instead of completing his delivery to the batter on strike.

Dead ball scenario: If a bowler throws the ball in an attempt to run out the striker before entering their delivery stride, it will now be the dead ball. This is an extremely rare scenario, which has until now been called a No ball.

Judging wide: Law 22.1 has been amended to take away the unfair advantage from the batters. In modern-day cricket, the batters play a lot of innovative shots and because of that, they move around the crease before the ball is moved to create doubts in the bowler’s mind. The new law suggests that a ‘Wide’ will apply to where the batter is standing, where the striker has stood at any point since the bowler began their run up, and which would also have passed wide of the striker in a normal batting position.

Permanent Saliva Ban: The new laws started that teh use of saliva will be banned permanently due to health reasons, implemented when men’s cricket resumed after a COVID-19 suspension in July 2020. The MCC said it found through research that the ban over this period had little or no impact on the amount of swing that bowlers were getting. Polishing the ball with sweat will still be permitted.