David Warner against Mankading

Karachi, March 10

Run-out at the non-striker’s end remains a “spirit of cricket issue” for Australian opener David Warner despite the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) amending its code to remove it from “unfair play” laws, though he believes that batters are the ones solely at “fault” if such a dismissal is effected.

The MCC, custodians of cricket’s laws, re-classified the controversial run-out from Law 41’s ‘unfair play’ and incorporated it within Law 38 pertaining to legitimate run-outs.

It’s one of the nine changes that the MCC made to its code, which is set to come into effect from October this year.

“I still think the history of the game suggests it’s a spirit of cricket thing… You don’t expect players to do that,” Warner was quoted as saying by ‘news.com.au’I ahead of the second Test against Pakistan beginning here on Saturday.

“I do agree with the fact that if you are backing up, and you’re out of your crease by a long way (you are fair game). I think it happened more predominantly at the end of a white-ball 50-over games, or obviously in T20 cricket we’ve seen it but at the end of the day, as a batsman, you’ve got to stay in your crease,” he added.

Warner said batters have only themselves to blame if they end up being dismissed in such a manner.

“There’s no doubt about that, and if you’re silly enough to get caught out like that and run out, that’s your own fault. You’re told not to leave before the bowler lets the ball go, so just don’t do it,” Warner said. — AP

Bengaluru Test: 100 percent crowd allowed

Bengaluru: The second Test between India and Sri Lanka, a pink-ball game starting here on Saturday, could witness a full house after the Karnataka State Cricket Association on Thursday allowed 100 percent crowd attendance for the match owing to the sharp decline in Covid-19 cases and high demand for tickets. The prices of the tickets per day has been kept at Rs 1250, Rs 750, Rs 500 and Rs 100. In the first Test between India and Sri Lanka, which was also Virat Kohli’s landmark 100th Test, 50 percent crowd capacity was allowed at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.