Recently, India inflicted a 3-0 ODI series sweep after Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma ran out Charlie Dean of England through Mankading, as the batter was standing outside the crease at the non-striker’s end at Lord’s.
Now, this was well within the rules and no one should have a problem with it, and they definitely can’t raise a finger on the sportsmanship of the player executing the Mankad. But the English are doing exactly that. So, let’s look at some of the instances where England showed “sportsmanship”.
1. When Smrti Mandhana had to ask for a third umpire review when it was blatantly a not out. Not bizarre at all.
2. And of course, England players removing their runners-up medal after their defeat in the Euro 2020 final against Italy is peak “sportsman spirit”
3. When Stuart Broad stayed on the field even though he clearly felt the ball hit the bat, just because the umpire declared not out and the opponent did not have any more reviews left. He later said he got confused because of the wicketkeeper’s gloves.
4. And how can we forget Stuart Broad breaching ICC’s Code of Conduct during the third match of England’s ICC World Test Championship series against New Zealand in Leeds?!
Back in June, England fast bowler Stuart Broad was reprimanded for throwing a ball at Daryl Mitchell, breaching Article 2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to throwing a ball at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an international match.
5. And also Stuart Broad receiving a demerit point for using a very “professional” speech toward Faf du Plessis
Stuart Broad, England’s star player, was fined and received a demerit point for swearing at South Africa’s Faf du Plessis during the 2020 England series with South Africa.
6. England players also celebrated their 2013 Ashes series win at The Oval by allegedly urinating on the pitch
They later apologised “if their actions caused any offence to anyone” and called it a “simple error of judgment”.
7. When Flintoff apparently ran back from the toilet with drinks in his hand just to abuse Ganguly
You can debate the correctness of rules if you want but is it really right to question the sportsmanship of a player who is acting well within the established rules?
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