West Indian great and World top ex-batsman Brian Lara has thrown his support behind Adam Zampa's attempt to 'Mankad' Tom Rogers in the BBL. Brian Lara has backed Adam Zampa's ill-fated attempt at a 'Mankad' in the BBL, after the Melbourne Stars skipper became embroiled in controversy as a result. Zampa had attempted to run Renegades batter Tom Rogers out at the non-striker's end, an attempt that was struck off due to him having gone through his bowling motion before coming back to take the bails off.

Despite the ICC moving last year to clarify the rules around bowlers running a batter out, the 'Mankad' remains a divisive act in the cricket world. Some maintain it's an unsportsmanlike form of dismissal, however other argue it is the batters responsibility to avoid being run-out by not backing up out of their crease too far

Zampa has faced heavy criticism since, but maintains the only regret he has about his attempt was the execution. But he's found a high profile supporter in West Indian cricket legend Lara, who backed the spinner's highly contentious act. “As a batter, I honestly don’t think that I’ve ever stepped out of my crease unless I see the ball travelling out of the bowler’s hand,” told Fox Cricket. “And you just need to see a yard of the delivery coming out and then you can leave your crease.

“You’re telling the bowler that if he goes across the line by a centimetre, right, that’s illegal. But you’re allowed to go down the track three or four yards and take that advantage? “I say Adam, run him out, that’s what I think. It’s got to be stamped out of the game, these players have to understand that they’ve got to stay in their crease, and I don’t see any great advantage. Why are you going? That bat can still be in your crease and you can have the legs to get to the other end. I’m totally for stamping that side of the game out, let batsmen know they have to stay in their crease.”

Lara likened backing up excessively to the practice of stealing bases in baseball, where a base runner can risk getting out before a pitch is thrown to effectively get a free base. He said the interplay between the pitcher and base-runners in those situations was an interesting aspect of the game in baseball, suggesting the Mankad was similar to a pitcher managing to pick off a runner trying to steal a base.

It was worth mentioned here that no one since Bradman built massive scores as often and as fast as Brian Lara in his pomp, and with such elegance. Even his stance was thrilling - the bat raised high in the air, the weight poised on a bent front knee, the eyes low and level. Then the guillotine would fall, sending the ball flashing to the boundary.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP