Roberts weighs in on Mankad debate

As the debate surrounding the justification or otherwise for employing the 'Mankad' as a mode of dismissal raged on, Cricket Australia Chief Executive Kevin Roberts made it clear the practice would not be condoned under his watch.

Opinions have been sharply divided among players (past and present), commentators and cricket fans the world over in the days since India's Ravi Ashwin used the ploy to run out England international Jos Buttler this week.

The incident, which took place in an Indian Premier League fixture between Ashwin's Kings XI Punjab and Buttler's Rajasthan Royals, is permitted under cricket's laws but resides in an ethical grey area given it often straddles the line between acceptable and poor sportsmanship.

But in the wake of the sandpaper controversy that tarnished the reputation of Australia's men's team in South Africa a year ago, Roberts has no doubts as to which side of that divide he occupies.

And he reaffirmed that, should an Australia player find themselves in the situation faced by Ashwin -  with ball in hand and removing the bails as a non-striker walks out of his crease – then they have made the wrong decision.

Speaking to the Melbourne Press Club yesterday, Roberts faced a hypothetical scenario whereby an Australia bowler (in this instance, spinner Adam Zampa) executed a Mankad-style dismissal of a high-profile rival (for example, Virat Kohli) in a match played in India.

Roberts responded that he could not see a circumstance in which any match situation trumped the guiding principle to which Cricket Australia has subscribed since the Cape Town controversy last March.

And which is now formally enshrined in a players' pact that was ratified last October, amid the cultural review conducted by the Sydney-based Ethics Centre into CA and the game it overseas.

"We're very clear about what we stand for now," Roberts said, when asked to share his views on the prospect of a member of the national men's team reprising Ashwin's polarising actions.

"The players stand for making Australians proud, so if you run it (the 'Mankad') through that lens, it's pretty clear that something like that doesn't make Australians proud.

"If we talk about on and off the field, we talk about our commitment to cricket communities and bringing them together, and for the players and others to inspire them.

"Would that have done that? No way.

"We've got two very clear mechanisms now.

"Two very clear decision-making guides that would have made it quite easy to address an issue like that, whereas a year ago that wouldn't have been so easy for us because we didn’t have those principles in place."

In the aftermath of this week's furore, Australia fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins both expressed their unease at the practice, with Hazlewood going so far as to suggest that the opportunistic mode of dismissal be removed from the game's laws.

Roberts did not a venture a view on how such an issue would be dealt with on the field, and within the administration, should a player make the dubious call in the heat of the moment.

However, any Australia cricketer who finds themselves stopped in their delivery stride and contemplating their next move as an opposition batter leaves the safety of their crease might also pause to consider his succinct views on running out a non-striker in Mankad fashion.

"Not a fan," was the CEO's blunt assessment.