Ravichandran Ashwin Suggests "Bravery Award" For Bowlers Running-Out Non-Strikers Who Back Up Too Far
Ashwin suggested the ICC to come up with a bravery award for the bowlers who run out batters at the non-striker's end as there is a lot of stigma involved with the dismissal.
The third and final ODI between India and England witnessed a controversial end as Deepti Sharma ran Charlie Dean out at the non-striker's end as she was backing too far ahead when the ball was about to be bowled. As soon as the match got over, England cricketers made their displeasure known, and wicketkeeper-batter Sam Billings was among the first ones to tweet: "There's surely not a person who has played the game that thinks this is acceptable? Just not cricket."
He added another tweet, saying: "Not even looking at the other end in delivery stride." To this, England pacer James Anderson replied: "Spot on. No intention of bowling the ball."
The banter continued further with Billings telling Anderson, "Imagine how many more wickets you could get James."
However, on Sunday, Ravichandran Ashwin also jumped onto the discussion, and he suggested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to come up with a bravery award for the bowlers who run out batters at the non-striker's end as there is a lot of stigma involved with the dismissal.
"In fact that's a great idea. How about awarding that wicket to the bowler for " presence of mind" under immense pressure and of course knowing the social stigma that he/she would have to deal with post doing it. How about a bravery award to go with it too @ICC," tweeted Ashwin.
In fact that's a great idea. How about awarding that wicket to the bowler for “ presence of mind” under immense pressure and of course knowing the social stigma that he/she would have to deal with post doing it. How about a bravery award to go with it too @ICC ? https://t.co/9PqqetnnGw
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) September 25, 2022
In the 44th over, Deepti ran-out Dean as she was backing up too far ahead before the ball was released from the hand, and in the end, India ended up winning the match by 16 runs. This mode of dismissal has always attracted some contrasting opinions and it is no surprise that some of the England cricketers were in mood to accept this wicket.
It is important to note that earlier this month, the ICC announced certain changes to the playing conditions.
Regarding "running out of the non-striker", the ICC stated: " The Playing Conditions follow the Laws in moving this method of effecting a Run out from the 'Unfair Play' section to the 'Run out' section."
Dean, who was the last England wicket to fall, was devastated, walking away in tears after shaking hands with the Indian players.
She had walked in with the score at 65/7 as England chased 170, and put on a 38-run stand with skipper Amy Jones. Even after Jones was dismissed, Dean kept going and even as Kate Cross fell to the retiring Jhulan Goswami, she kept England's hopes alive.
But Deepti's run-out meant India gave Jhulan Goswami a winning farewell match and also a historic series sweep.
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