Mankading 'unfair' no more: MCC tweaks laws of cricket, use of saliva also completely banned

Custodian of cricket laws, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), has decided to move the law relating to run-outs at non-striker's end from "unfair play" section besides completely banning the use of saliva to shine the ball in amendments to its 2022 code that will come into effect in October.

Run-outs at non-striker's end have often triggered heated debates on spirit of the game and several players like India's premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have advocated for it as a fair mode of dismissal.

"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 said in a media statement late on Tuesday.

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The MCC also said that using saliva to shine the ball would be treated as an unfair practice. Saliva application was barred by the ICC in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and MCC said its research found that applying saliva had no impact on the ball's movement.

"When cricket resumed following the onset of Covid-19, playing conditions were written in most forms of the game stating that applying saliva to the ball was no longer permitted.

"MCC's research found that this had little or no impact on the amount of swing the bowlers were getting. Players were using sweat to polish the ball, and this was equally effective," it said.

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"The new Laws will not permit the use of saliva on the ball, which also removes any grey areas of fielders eating sugary sweets to alter their saliva to apply to the ball. Using saliva will be treated the same way as any other unfair methods of changing the condition of the ball," it asserted.

The changes in the code, which first came into existence in 2017, were suggested by MCC Laws sub-committee "which were subsequently approved at the Club's Main Committee meeting last week."

The amendments will not come into force until October.

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"...The 2022 Code makes some rather bigger changes, from the way we talk about cricket to the way it's played," Fraser Stewart, MCC Laws Manager, said.

"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."