Cook: Sri Lanka 'crossed a line' with Mankad

England

Cricket365
June 4, 2014

England captain Alastair Cook was left in an indignant mood after the fifth and final ODI against Sri Lanka, which the visitors won to seal the series, saying opposing skipper Angelo Mathews had 'crossed the line'.

The highlight of the match, which was tame for the most part, was the run out at the non-striker's end of Jos Buttler. In cricketing parlance, he was Mankaded, the bails removed when he backed up too far.

It was the first instance of such a dismissal in international cricket since 1992, and though Sri Lanka warned Buttler (which they didn't have to do, according to the rules) they followed through and Mathews declined to with draw the appeal.

Cook was furious, saying he was 'disappointed' that Mathews did not do the expected thing by giving Buttler another chance. But the Sri Lankans were within their rights to send Buttler packing, as Mankading is perfectly legal.

But Cook said after the match: "I thought it was disappointing. There's a line and that line was crossed here. I've never seen it before in the game and I was pretty disappointed by it.

"As captain of your country, there are certain ways you want your team to operate. And obviously he is fine with it. He has said he will do it again.

"You don't know what you would do if you were put in that situation, in the heat of the moment, until you are. I'd like to think I wouldn't do it, but I suppose you just don't know.

"I haven't been in the situation, as captain of England, where I have had to make a 'spirit of cricket' call. Paul Collingwood had one a few years ago and admitted afterwards that, in the heat of the moment, he probably made a mistake.

"If he was properly trying to steal a single, I could possibly understand it. But he was half a yard out of his crease. It's pretty disappointing."

As it was, the dismissal was probably not a match-changing one as England were already six down with 199 runs on the board in the 44th over. They were all out for 219, and Sri Lanka won with 10 balls to spare.

England latest-news sri-lanka