There was a major controversy in the third and final ODI between the England and India women’s team at the Home of Cricket Lord’s.
No, I am not referring to Deepti Sharma’s legitimate non-striker’s end run-out to dismiss Charlotte Dean and win the game for India.
The controversy involved Charlotte Dean’s persistence in leaving the crease early to gain a few yards and sneak a tight single and the disappointing discourse that followed on social media attacking the Indian women’s team.
For the uninitiated, Deepti Sharma ran out Charlotte Dean at the non-striker’s end with England needing just 17 runs to win and one wicket in hand to give India a narrow victory and 3-0 clean sweep over the hosts in the ODI series. This dismissal sparked plenty of angry reactions in England, with fans, press, pundits, and even current and former England players insinuating that Deepti Sharma brought the game into disrepute.
The frenzied reactions from England cricketers such as James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Liam Livingstone, Michael Vaughan, and Sam Billings can be seen below.
Mankad is in the rules,but I hope it’s not a go too tactic .. You surely don’t train all your lives to win a game using that tactic .. and I know Batters should train to stay behind the line but it stinks seeing a game won like that .. Yesterday was a bloody good game too #India
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 25, 2022
There’s surely not a person who has played the game that thinks this is acceptable?
Just not cricket… https://t.co/VLGeddDlrz
— Sam Billings (@sambillings) September 24, 2022
Spot on. No intention of bowling the ball 🤬
— James Anderson (@jimmy9) September 24, 2022
Legal but that’s just not cricket. Terrible way to end a terrific game. #ENGvsIND
— England’s Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) September 24, 2022
Question… when are you allowed to leave your ground? When the back foot lands, front foot lands, bowler releases the ball, when it pitches, when the batter hits it? #Mankad ruling 🤷♂️🤷♂️ or just back yourself to get a number 11 out sounds a better option 👍👍
— Liam Livingstone (@liaml4893) September 25, 2022
The MCC, however, have rushed in defence of Deepti Sharma following the events at the home of cricket. The sport’s governing body which acts as the custodian of the laws and spirit of the sport said that the game was properly officiated by the umpires.
“Cricket is a broad church and the spirit by which it is played is no different. As custodians of the Spirit of Cricket, MCC appreciates its application is interpreted differently across the globe. Respectful debate is healthy and should continue, as where one person sees the bowler as breaching the Spirit in such examples, another will point at the non-striker gaining an unfair advantage by leaving their ground early.”
“MCC’s message to non-strikers continues to be to remain in their ground until they have seen the ball leave the bowler’s hand. Then dismissals, such as the one seen yesterday, cannot happen.”
As the top-governing body of the game has stated, Deepti was well within her rights to do what she did, and the onus is on the batter to stay in the crease, as MS Dhoni displays below.
— अखिल उमराव (@Akhil_Umrao) September 25, 2022
Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the entire lead-up of events in the 3rd ODI by journalist Peter Della Penna showcases that Charlotte Dean repeatedly left her crease before the ball left the bowler’s hand. As the thread below elaborates, Dean left her crease 71 times before the ball was released while at the non-striker’s end.
Went back to the full match replay. Charlie Dean was leaving her crease early starting with her 2nd ball at the non-striker’s end in the 18th over. Ball still in bowler’s hand. Dean is never looking at the bowler to see if/when the ball has been released. Basic lack of awareness. pic.twitter.com/yRokOftidg
— Peter Della Penna (@PeterDellaPenna) September 25, 2022
In a game with small margins and a target of 170, Dean tried to steal every advantage she could to get her side over the line. However, when finally punished for breaking the rules, the funny thing about our sport is that it was Deepti Sharma who was villainised, not the real perpetrator of the crime.
[Featured Image Credit: Aashin Prasad]
Shivaan Shah