Mitchell Starc warns Adil Rashid to stay in his crease; video goes viral

‘Mankading’ rule, despite being against the spirit of the game, exists in the rule book and players are also entitled to use it. However, a section of the cricket fraternity still questions the validity of the rule on the basis of moral ground.

In the third ODI between England and Australia at Manchester, speedster Mitchell Starc had a glaring opportunity to pull off ‘Mankading’. But Starc refrained from doing so and instead gave a scare and warning to Adil Rashid at the non-striker’s end.

The incident took place in the penultimate over of the One-day International when Starc, all of a sudden, pulled out of his run-up and asked Rashid to get back into his crease. After being slammed by Rashid for a six on the third delivery, Starc had a chance to ‘Mankad’ him on the fifth ball. The speedster, however, settled by giving the leg-spinner a warning.

Mitchell Starc scalped three wickets at Old Trafford

Starc returned with figures of 3/74 despite striking on the first two deliveries. The Australian quick was on a hat-trick after scalping wickets of Jason Roy and Joe Root on the first two balls. England were left reeling on the very first delivery after Starc showed the exit door to Roy.

The English opener hit it uppishly and gave it straight to Glenn Maxwell at backward point. England’s misery worsened after Starc walloped again on the subsequent delivery, trapping Root in front with a full-length ball. 30-year-old Starc later bowled all-rounder Tom Curran in the latter phase of the match to register his three-wicket haul.

England, meanwhile, registered a challenging 302/7 on the scoreboard. After losing early wickets, Jonny Bairstow slammed an impressive 112 to lay the foundation. Along with Bairstow’s batting brilliance, Sam Billings (57) and Chris Woakes (53*) also helped England to cross the 300-run mark.

After registering a 24-run triumph in the second ODI, hosts England will be aiming to seal the third and final game to clinch the three-match series. Eoin Morgan-led side is currently on the brink of sealing another series since the resumption of cricket after the COVID-19 hiatus. England have already pocketed the preceding T20I series 2-1.