MCC clarify position on Charlie Dean dismissal at Lord's
Dean was left shattered when India veteran Deepti Sharma decided to run her out at the non-striker's end during her delivery stride, with the dismissal ensuring the visitors clinched a narrow 16-run triumph in the final match of the series.
Much conjecture followed as to whether the dismissal was in fact within the Spirit of Cricket, with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) releasing a statement on Sunday to clarify their position on the incident.
The dismissal is currently listed in the 'Unfair Play' section of the laws, but is set to be moved to the 'Run Out' section at the start of next month when an update of the ICC Playing Conditions comes into effect.
The MCC made reference to the soon to be released update to the playing conditions in their statement and maintained their view that the onus remains on the batter to stay in the crease until they have seen the bowler release the ball.
"This change will formally come into effect from 1 October 2022. This was done to clarify this matter and to place an onus on batters to ensure that they do not leave the crease at the non-striker’s end, prior to a bowler releasing the ball," the statement read.
"The Law is clear, as it needs to be for all umpires to be able to easily interpret throughout all levels of the game and at all moments in the game.
"Cricket is a broad church and the spirit by which it is played is no different. As custodians of the Spirit of Cricket, MCC appreciates its application is interpreted differently across the globe.
"Respectful debate is healthy and should continue, as where one person sees the bowler as breaching the Spirit in such examples, another will point at the non-striker gaining an unfair advantage by leaving their ground early.
"MCC's message to non-strikers continues to be to remain in their ground until they have seen the ball leave the bowler's hand. Then dismissals, such as the one seen yesterday, cannot happen.
"Whilst yesterday was indeed an unusual end to an exciting match, it was properly officiated and should not be considered as anything more."
Jhulan Goswami – The Chakda Express | Snehal Pradhan's tribute | Hindi
