'I am calling batsman back even in World Cup final' - Jos Buttler joins running-out non-striker debate with weird statement

All-rounder Deepti Sharma and the India team have caused quite an uproar in the English cricketing fraternity since the bowler ran England’s Charlie Dean out at the non-striker’s end for backing up too far. A lot of former and current English players such as Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Sam Billings and Nasser Hussain, among others, have condemned the act for not withholding the spirit of the game. And the latest on the list is the England limited-overs captain, Jos Buttler.

Buttler, who has been at the receiving end of a non-striker runout twice in his career, said that he would withdraw the appeal in case this mode of runout occurs even in a World Cup final. He claimed that no one wants to see it in the game because it becomes the talking point when it should be about the contest between bat and ball.

“No, I am calling the batsman back,” Buttler told Talk Sport. “No one wants to see them in the game because they always create such a talking point when it should be about the battle between bat and ball and watching great games of cricket.” 

They always seem to happen at unsavoury times: Jos Buttler

Buttler admits that the rule of non-striker runout is in place so that players do not get an unfair advantage. However, the England skipper reckons that they always occur at “unsavoury” times. He also feels that there are a lot of grey areas in the wording of the law, which he feels should be made clearer.

“They always seem to happen at unsavoury times,” expressed the 32-year-old. “I understand you have to have the rule there so people can’t just gain an unfair advantage, but I think they should re-word it because the way the law is written gives a lot of grey areas – with the “expected to bowl” part so maybe if they just tightened that up," he added.

It's within the laws of the game and even MCC has reiterated that a non-striker runout is not unfair by any means. Meanwhile, former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie has strongly disagreed with the popular belief that the runout defeats sportsmanship. 

Gillespie wrote on Twitter, “Play by the laws and the game will take care of itself.” Even the England batter, Alex Hales, backed Sharma and the mode of dismissal. He tweeted, “It wouldn’t be an issue if batters simply remained in the crease until the ball has left the hand.”