"Bowler Is Not Villain...": Marylebone Cricket Club On 'Non-Striker Run-Out'

No bowler can be dubbed a villain for running out a batter, who is attempting to steal ground at the non-striker's end, the World Cricket Committee of the MCC asserted as it sought normalisation of the dismissal at all age-group levels. The MCC also called for "calm" on the contentious issue as a few former cricketers still believe that the mode of dismissal is against the spirit of the game despite the ICC ruling that it will be counted as 'run out' rather than 'unfair play'.

Last month, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) the custodians of the laws of the game, issued a clarification to the wording of the law following an incident in which Australian leg-spinner 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 WCC, which met at the ICC headquarters in Dubai last week, is now calling for calm across all levels of the game -- from the 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 on Thursday.

"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