ZIMBABWE was cruelly denied a place in the quarter-finals of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup after West Indies bowler Keemo Paul controversially ran out Richard Ngarava – with three runs needed off the final over in Chittagong, Bangladesh, yesterday.
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Zimbabwe trailed the Windies by two runs with one wicket in hand when Paul came on for the final over.
Paul, from Guyana, did not begin his delivery stride and whipped off the bails while Ngarava’s bat was on the line of the crease, as he readied himself for a run, a run out known as the Mankad.
On-field officials asked the West Indian captain, Shimron Hetmyer, whether he wanted to continue with the appeal after the matter was referred to the third umpire. The third umpire was called in and found the batsman just on the line, when he should have been behind it, ending Zimbabwe’s campaign in a game they had to win to make the quarter-finals.
Although the dismissal was within the rules of the game, many felt Paul’s action was against the “spirit of the game”.
A visibly upset Zimbabwe captain Brandon Mavuta, who was in tears after the match, refused to comment on the run out after the game.
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“We got so close, no comment about it. I don’t have anything to say right now,” he told the media.
Earlier, Zimbabwe had restricted West Indies to 226 for nine from their 50 overs, with left-arm spinner Rugare Magarira the pick of Zimbabwe’s bowlers, taking three for 28 from 10 overs.
Shamar Springer top-scored for West Indies with 61 from 69 balls.
Zimbabwe made steady progress in their reply, and looked well set for victory at 209 for six in the middle of the 45th over after a partnership of 62 between Adam Keefe and 15-year-old Wesley Madhevere.
But when Springer trapped Keefe lbw for 43, the tide turned – Madhevere was bowled by Springer for 21 and Magarira run out for a duck to leave the last pair needing 10 more for victory.
They got within three runs of victory, and qualification from Group C behind England, only to be cruelly denied in contentious circumstances when Paul removed the bails.
Hetmyer, the West Indies captain, admitted his side might have contravened the spirit of the game, but was delighted with the victory.
“Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties. We’ve seen this before. It’s probably not in the spirit of the game, but we’re happy to have won.”
Mankading – named after Indian player Vinoo Mankad, who gained notoriety by removing the bails to claim a run-out against a non-striker in Australia in 1947 – is a technically legitimate form of dismissal, but invariably sparks debate about the “spirit of cricket”, as it did in 2014 when Sri Lanka’s Sachithra Senanayake ran out Jos Buttler of England during a one-day international at Edgbaston.
Many current and former players took to Twitter to condemn the act.
One of the match commentators, former England fast bowler, Dominic Cork, said: “If this was a senior game, I don’t think I would have gone upstairs. I wouldn’t want my team to win in that way. This isn’t what Under-19 cricket is about. I feel sorry for Zimbabwe.”
Former Zimbabwe cricketer Dirk Viljoen also expressed his outrage at the decision on Twitter.
“That is disgusting. Is this how we teach U-19s to play the game? I have no words. Sorry Zim.”
England ODI captain, Eoin Morgan also weighed in saying: “Disgraceful behaviour in the U19CWC. West Indies should be embarrassed!!”
While the circumstances might differ, Zimbabwe’s near-miss against West Indies yesterday was the latest in a growing trend among national teams, which have struggled to get past the finish line in tight situations.
The national Sevens rugby team, the Cheetahs, recently missed out on an automatic place to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games after conceding a try after the buzzer.
Here are more reactions to the loss from cricket players, coaches and enthusiasts on Twitter:
