James Neesham not in favour of Mankanding after incident in U-19 WC

James Neesham not in favour of Mankanding after incident in U-19 WC

On Friday, Afghan cricketer Noor Ahmed raised the debate of Mankading once again in the cricketing fraternity with his method of dismissal in an Under-19 game. The 15-year old cricketer knocked out the stumps of Pakistan’s Mohammed Huraira, who had left the crease before the ball was released. After a TV review by the on-field umpire, Huraira was confirmed dismissed.

James Neesham not in favour of Mankading after incident in U-19 WC

New Zealand’s Jimmy Neesham game his two cents to the incident on Twitter by replying to a fan who asked him if he would ever Mankad another batsman. He said, “The only way I could see myself doing it is if I’ve already warned him and he continues to steal a ridiculous advantage, like 2 meters.”

The controversial mode of dismissal continues to be a sore spot for the cricketing fraternity. Even though Mankading is well within the rules of the game, it is considered to be in poor spirit, as the bowler seeks out a chance to dismiss the opposition through a simple case of human error. Even though Huraira’s dismissal did not affect Pakistan’s comfortable win on Friday, the incident left a sour taste in many mouths.

Afghanistan’s U-19 captain Farhan Zakhil did not approve of the Mankading incident, but stated it was important for his team to win. He told ESPN cricinfo, “To be honest, it was not in the spirit of the game. But we wanted to win. It was a very important game for us. The people of Afghanistan wanted us to beat Pakistan. But it’s within the rules – and out is out. You have to stay within the crease. If you want to reduce the pitch length to 16 or 18 yards, then you’re creating a problem for us.”

He did voice his support for his teammate, by stating that batsmen should stay within the crease to avoid such dismissals. “At that time, we realised let’s do something different to build pressure on Pakistan,” He further stated, “Afghanistan wanted us to beat Pakistan. But it’s within the rules – and out is out. You have to stay within the crease. If you want to reduce the pitch length to 16 or 18 yards, then you’re creating a problem for us.

“If you want to make runs and rotate the strike, you must respect the opposition, which is why we went ahead. If we were winning, we probably wouldn’t have done it,” Zakhil added.