Wagga City player-coach Jon Nicoll defended his actions after being labelled an embarrassment by Wagga RSL’s skipper following an incident on Saturday afternoon when the former used the Mankad to dismiss an opponent.
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Nicoll, named Wagga’s best cricketer for a record four years in a row and also an Australian Country rep this summer, had his integrity questioned following the incident at Robertson Oval last weekend.
Nicoll ran out Sam Perry from the non-striker’s end, a move which drew the ire of Wagga RSL captain James Richards.
While not questioning the legality of the dismissal – there’s no doubt whatsoever that it is legal – Richards believes Nicoll never should have appealed in the first place, arguing its against the spirit of the game.
“I doubt there would be another player in the competition who would have asked for him to be given out,” Richards said.
“He has embarrassed himself and his club, and that is how he is going to be remembered now.
“I would hope no player at our club would do that and lower themselves to that level.”
However Nicoll has defended his actions and his sportsmanship, saying he was well within the rules of the game and as a result, “I haven’t done anything wrong”.
“I think that is an overreaction,” Nicoll said.
“If you look at the rules I haven’t done anything wrong.
“The umpires, I thought, probably would have given him a warning, but they gave him out.
“Both umpires actually said there was nothing wrong with what I have done at all.”
Nicoll cracked the Australian Country side this season, where he played alongside Dubbo’s Jordan Moran, and has been a standout since returning to Wagga from Canberra six years ago.
Wagga City need to win to keep their premiership defence alive and he sees no issue with the dismissal, hitting back at Richards with a barb of his own too.
“I think it is a bit rich to say I have embarrassed myself coming from someone who has batted at six and seven his whole career and hidden down the order,” he said.
“I think it has pushed the boundaries there claiming sportsmanship.
“It is probably a little bit far considering I haven’t done anything illegal at all, haven’t broken any rules and both umpires agreed with what I did.”
For those playing at home, the dismissal was originally named after Indian cricketer Vinoo Mankan after he ran Bill Brown out in the act of delivering the ball during Australia’s tour of India in 1947-48.
Since then it has emerged on the international stage every now and then and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) actually changed its rules of cricket last year to make executing the Mankad easier.
Originally bowlers were only allowed to do it before hitting their delivery stride but that was changed to simplify the law, allowing bowlers at all levels of cricket to run out a non-striker up to the instant at which they “would be expected to deliver the ball”.
England batsman Jos Buttler was run out by Sri Lankan bowler Sachithra Senanayke after repeatedly walking out of his crease in a One-Day International.
Although, Buttler was warned once by the bowler, who whipped the bails off the delivery after.
The West Indies under-19 team sparked controversy two years ago when they used the tactic to run out a Zimbabwe batsman in a junior World Cup quarter-final as well.
Zimbabwe needed three runs to win with one wicket left in the last over.
It prompted England captain Eoin Morgan to describe it as "disgraceful behaviour" and said the West Indies "should be embarrassed".