Andrew
Arthur Choga
In February 2016, at the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh, Keemo Paul of the West Indies mankaded Richard Ngarava in the last over of the match in which Zimbabwe needed three runs to win.
A mankad is a term used to describe a move in which a bowler takes off the bails of the non-striking player after he realises the unsuspecting batter is out of his crease.
That match ended with a two-run win for the West Indies.
In the most basic form, cricket consists of two teams of 11 players each, which take turns to defend two sets of wooden sticks called stumps.
At any given time, one team has two players — batters — guarding their stumps, while the other team tries to get them out.
One of the 11 players bowls the ball towards the batter in spells of six balls each called an over.
This means the batter to whom the bowler is sending the ball is at the striker’s end.
The one who is on the same side as the bowler is at the non-striker’s end.
This is where Ngarava was, when he was mankaded.
The mankad is actually celebrated by some as a sign of the bowler’s awareness.
Others, however, feel it is a cheap shot and should be done away with.
It is believed the term “mankad” originated from the name of the legendary late Indian bowler, Vinoo Mankad, who played Test cricket for India for 13 years, between 1946 and 1959.
In a match against Australia in Sydney in 1948, Mankad, annoyed by the sight of the batter Bill Brown, constantly wandering around the crease, even before the ball was bowled, took the bails off and ran the batter out.
Incidentally, it became the second such occasion on the same tour, as Mankad had already run out the very same batter in a warm-up game prior to the series.
Appalled by what they thought was “unsportsmanlike conduct” by Mankad, the Australian press coined the term “mankad”.
The word is still being used today.
Last week, at the T20 World Cup in Australia, Zimbabwe faced Pakistan in a Super 12 match.
Brad Evans was bowling in the final over.
With one ball left, Pakistan needed four runs to win the game.
As Evans steamed in, the Pakistani batter on the non-striker’s end was a third of the way down the crease.
Evans chose to bowl and the rest is history.
After the game, Brad Hogg, a former Australian Test player, posted a picture of Evans making his run in, with the caption “Why severe penalty needs to be brought in for leaving the crease before the ball is delivered. Last ball of the game last night!”
Responding to the tweet, Evans wrote: “Guess it’s down to the individual who’s bowling. Not once did it cross my mind to use a mankad. #spiritofcricket.”
In that tweet, Evans summed up the way this Chevrons team has decided to play.
They will attack without fear and defend their total with all they have.
It helps they now have in their ranks one of the best players in the world — Sikandar Raza.
The Chevrons captain, Dave Houghton, a lawyer by profession, has the team playing to its strengths.
The way the team has been planning shows the level of preparation that has been done.
The team’s energy is palpable and their spirit is indomitable.
As for their fans, well, what else can be said about them? The England cricket supporters’ club, the Barmy Army, which has long held the crown for being loud and boisterous, even doffed their hats to the Zimbabwean supporters. “Zimbabwe fans are unreal,” they tweeted after the Chevrons qualified for the Super 12 stage.
The Chevrons went on to beat Pakistan and draw with South Africa in the Super 12.
A year ago, it would have been unthinkable that Zimbabwe would win over Pakistan and give South Africa a good run for their money.
However, a few days after their famous win, the Chevrons lost by three runs to Bangladesh in a highly entertaining match.
A year ago, Bangladesh was hitting Zimbabwe all over the park in Harare.
It is also important to recall that the Chevrons team was previously losing to teams such as Afghanistan.
So, Zimbabwe cricket is taking the right step in the right direction.
The brave actions taken by the leadership at Zimbabwe Cricket have brought a whole new level of interest in the team.
Their approach makes good learning for all sporting disciplines to ensure success.
Regardless of how far they go in this World Cup, the Chevrons are clearly no longer the same.
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Online Reporter