Mitchell Starc proposes a novel idea to prevent non-striker run outs
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc has proposed a unique idea to tackle the problem of the non-strikers who are getting out of their crease early. He offered a suggestion saying that on-field umpires should use on-ground cameras and call for a short run if the non-striker tries to take undue advantage.
The spirit of cricket debate made headlines again and the legitimacy of the dismissal was questioned when Charlotte Dean was run out by Deepti Sharma in an ODI involving India and England. Starc himself was in the centre of it all when he issued a warning to Jos Buttler for leaving the crease early before he let go of the ball, Starc felt that once a penalty in terms of runs is docked on the batting team it will see the dismissal not coming into play and the act of a run out will eventually fade away.
Why not take it out of the hands of interpretation, and make it black-and-white?” Starc told ‘The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald’. “Every time the batter leaves the crease before the front foot lands, dock them a run. There’s no grey area then.
Umpires officiating the run out would destigmatise the dismissal- Mitchell Starc
“And in T20 cricket where runs are so handy at the backend and games can be decided by the barest of margins, if all of a sudden you get docked 20 runs because a batter’s leaving early, it is safe to say that the non-strikers would stop taking a head start,” said the Australian pacer. “It’s harder to do down the levels of cricket, but particularly in international cricket, there are always going to be cameras square-on for the front foot and for the run-outs. So, why not? And if it either makes the batters think about it – or stops it occurring – isn’t that a good thing?”
Starc said that umpires officiating on the penalty for the batting side would spare bowlers from thinking of executing such dismissals. “Then there’s no stigma,” Starc said. “It’s taken away from the decision to have to run someone out or think about it. If it’s blatant, it is a different story, but I feel like that is at least completely black-and-white.”
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