ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, CMC-The chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Dave Richardson, is suggesting that young West Indies bowler Keemo Paul should have warned Zimbabwe batsman Richard Ngarava before removing his bails in an incident that sparked controversy during the recent ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh.
The incident occurred during a crucial final group game between the two teams with Caribbean side needing just three runs to win with a wicket remaining.
Paul clinched victory for West Indies by running Ngarava out at the bowler’s end while running in to bowl the first delivery of the final over with replays suggesting Ngarava had strayed only marginally from the crease.
“My personal view is that where the batsmen aren’t specifically trying to steal runs, the option is with the fielding side to at least warn the batsmen,” Richardson said at a press conference yesterday.
“This is often down to the spirit of cricket, and how the individual players see the match. We would like to encourage spirit of cricket at all times”.
ICC laws state that the bowler can claim a run out by whipping off the bails if the non-striker is out of the crease.
However, some officials argue that Ngarava’s intentions didn’t seem sinister since he was not attempting to claim undue advantage.
“There are other modes of dismissal. If you’re a batsman, you’re interfering when you pick up the ball without asking permission from the fielding side. Strictly speaking, that is illegal and you could be dismissed. But generally, the players don’t take that action,” said the ICC chief executive.
“Running the batsman out at the bowler’s end is similar to that. Sure, if the batsman is taking unfair advantage, please run him out. If not, the best course of action is to warn him before taking any action.”
The young West Indians are due to return to the Caribbean today after defeating India by five wickets in the finals to claim their first Under-19 World Cup.
Their progress to the finals followed victories over Pakistan and Bangladesh in the quarter finals and semi-finals respectively.
