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Non-striker run-out rule amended by MCC to destigmatize mankading
Follow UsBowlers will also now be given more leeway for the wides called when batters laterally move in the crease
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has amended the law around running out non-striker while backing up - commonly known as mankading - in order to remove stigma around the dismissal. Bowlers removing the bails if a batter is unfairly backing up at the non-striker's end has been hotly debated over the years.
"Law 41.16 – running out the non-striker – has been moved from Law 41 (Unfair play) to Law 38 (Run out). The wording of the Law remains the same." the MCC mentioned in its rule changes.
Changes have also been made to batters crossing-over while a catch is being taken. The Hundred had experimented with the rule, where new batters will bat from the striker's end even if the dismissed batter had crossed over before the ball is caught.
Usage of saliva has been completely banned after an MCC research suggested that it had 'little or no impact' on the ball's ability to generate swing. The usage of saliva to polish the ball has been banned by the ICC since the beginning of the pandemic.
Bowlers will now have more leeway during wide calls when batters move across their stumps before the ball has been bowled. Law 22.1 has been amended so that a wide will apply to where the batter is standing, where the striker has stood at any point since the bowler began their run up, and which would also have passed wide of the striker in a normal batting position.
More changes have also been made to the rules when judging no-balls which includes bowler throwing at the striker's end which is a rare instance and any kind of outside intervention like a dog or a person.
“Since the publication of the 2017 Code of the Laws of Cricket, the game has changed in numerous ways. The 2nd edition of that Code, published in 2019, was mostly clarification and minor amendments, but the 2022 Code makes some rather bigger changes, from the way we talk about cricket to the way it’s played," MCC Laws manager Fraser Stewart said in a release.
“It is important that we announce these changes now as part of the Club’s global commitment to the game, giving officials from all over the world the chance to learn under the new Code ahead of the Laws coming into force in October.”