Mitchell Starc warns Jos Buttler: The Australian speedster was seen giving a warning to the English captain at the Manuka Oval tonight.
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Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc and England captain Jos Buttler were involved in a brief incident in the recently concluded third T20I which has once again ignited the debate around non-striker run-out.
It all happened after the fourth delivery of the fifth over when England batter Dawid Malan defended a Starc delivery back to him. Right after collecting the ball, Starc turned back and pointed towards Buttler and the crease indicating that he had backed up too far.
While Buttler didn’t agree to the same, Australia captain Aaron Finch admitted to having no idea about the incident during the post-match press conference. Co-incidentally, Buttler had also spoken on similar lines of unawareness referring to Matthew Wade-Mark Wood incident during the first T20I in Perth.
Chris Woakes opines against non-striker run-out after Mitchell Starc warns Jos Buttler in Canberra T20I
Finch, however, didn’t mince words while acknowledging that he isn’t a “big fan” of non-striker run-outs. The 35-year old player rather expressed a likeness for warning an offender at maximum.
“I think if batters get a warning, then it’s fair game after that. That would go for most teams, I assume, if you give the batter a warning that they are getting a little too much ground before the ball is bowled,” Finch told reporters at the Manuka Oval.
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England all-rounder Chris Woakes, who picked bowling figures of 2-0-4-3 to run through the Australian top-order in a rain-affected match on Friday, also opined against running out non-strikers. In a rare situation, Woakes agreed with Finch with respect to giving a warning.
“In my eyes, that [warning] is the best way to go about. I’ve got no issue with warning guys. I personally wouldn’t run someone out [like that] but a warning, no issue with that,” Woakes told reporters after the match.
It is noteworthy that affecting a non-striker run-out completely falls within the rules of the sport. Furthermore, a bowler isn’t even obliged to warn a batter before running him out.
