Will Mankad the batsman only if I’ve already warned him: Jimmy Neesham

New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham has also given his opinion on the ongoing debate over Mankad. The cricket world is busy discussing the unpopular mode of dismissal once again thanks to the incident that took place during the ongoing ICC U19 World Cup in South Africa. On Friday, Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad created quite a stir with his action in the competition.

The 15-year old highly-rated spinner pulled out of his run-up to knock the stumps of the Pakistan batsman  Mohammad Huraira in the quarterfinal match. The on-field umpire asked for a TV review and it was confirmed the batsman had left his crease before the bowler had released the ball. Fortunately for Pakistan, it did not hurt their cause as they won the game comfortably.

But once again, the unpopular mode of dismissal saw the cricketing fraternity indulging in a debate. The Mankad is well within the rules of the game but it is widely considered against the spirit of the game. And Jimmy Neesham made it clear that he too is not a big fan of it. It all started when one of his followers asked him whether he would ever Mankad a batsman.

In reply, the New Zealand ace said that he would do it only after warning the batsman and the latter tries to take unfair advantage, tweeting, “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.”

Not in the spirit of the game

Afghanistan U19 captain Farhan Zakhil also said that the Mankad incident was not in the spirit of the game but asserted that it is within the rules as he threw support behind his under-fire teammate. He also made it clear that the batsmen need to stay in the crease to avoid such dismissals.

“At that time, we realised let’s do something different to build pressure on Pakistan,” Zakhil told ESPNcricinfo, adding, “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.

“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,” he added.