Bowler Is Not Villain Here: MCC Calls For 'Calm' On Non-Striker Leaving Ground Early

The World Cricket Committee of the MCC, the custodians of the laws of the game, wants to see the non-striker being run out by the bowler normalised at all age-group levels besides calling for "calm" on the contentious subject. Last month, the MCC issued a clarification to the wording of the law following an incident in which bowler Adam Zampa attempted to run out non-striker Tom Rogers in a Big Bash game in January. The clarification involved changing the wording of Law 38.3 to deliver better clarity and dispel "misconceptions" on it.

The World Cricket Committee (WCC) of the MCC, which met at the ICC headquarters in Dubai last week, is now calling for calm across all levels of the game -- from the grassroots level of recreational cricket to the elite level -- given that the act of running out a non-striker who opts to steal ground is within the laws of the game.

"The overriding factor is that there is a simple way that all confusion and controversy around this form of dismissal can be eradicated - by non-strikers complying with the Law and remaining within their ground until they have seen the ball being released from the bowler's hand," the MCC said in a statement.

"Part of the discussion in Dubai touched on the growing narrative for the bowler to be vilified for this type of dismissal. The committee members were unanimous in their view that the batter stealing ground is the one breaking the Laws of the game and therefore deserving of recrimination.

"They were also in agreement that there is no precedent to require a bowler to give a warning to a batter, confirming they are completely within their right to dismiss the batter on the first occasion they break the Law," it added.

The WCC comprises greats of the game