Sachithra Senanayake Runs Out Jos Buttler — 2014 ODI

The non-striker run-out — colloquially known as the Mankad, named after Indian cricketer Vinoo Mankad who notably dismissed Bill Brown in this fashion during the 1947–48 tour of Australia — is one of cricket's most persistently controversial dismissals. It is entirely legal under the Laws of Cricket but has historically been considered by many to violate the spirit of the game.

The dismissal involves a bowler, during their delivery stride, deflecting from their usual action and removing the bails at the non-striker's end when the non-striker has left their crease before the ball is delivered. The non-striker, in anticipating the delivery and backing up, is technically in breach of the crease laws if the bowler chooses to enforce them.

The history of non-striker run-outs is marked by controversy not because the dismissal is illegal, but because its deployment sits in a grey area between tactical cricket and unsportsmanlike conduct. Teams have regularly faced criticism for using the method, and debates about whether to warn a batsman first — or whether any warning is required — have persisted for decades.

By the 2010s, the question of non-striker run-outs had become increasingly relevant as cricket adopted a more explicit Laws-based approach to on-field behaviour rather than relying on informal codes of conduct. The spirit of the game clauses in the Laws acknowledged the dismissal's legality while noting that its use should be preceded by a warning in some interpretations.

The 2014 ODI at Trent Bridge featuring Sachithra Senanayake and Jos Buttler crystallised the debate. But the context had been building through several earlier incidents in 2012 and surrounding years where non-striker run-outs — or threatened dismissals — had created tension in various competitions at domestic and international level.

The specific 2012 incident referenced in the slug context involved similar circumstances: a non-striker backing up aggressively, an off-spinner positioned to take advantage, and the inevitable controversy over whether the dismissal violated cricket's informal codes of conduct despite being perfectly within its Laws.

Jos Buttler, who would later be famously Mankaded by R. Ashwin in the 2019 IPL, first experienced the dismissal during a 2014 ODI against Sri Lanka. Off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake stopped in his delivery stride and removed the bails with Buttler out of his crease.

The dismissal was legitimate under the Laws, but Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews received criticism for not withdrawing the appeal. The English media and some former players condemned the dismissal as against the spirit of cricket.

What made the incident noteworthy was that Senanayake had apparently warned Buttler about backing up too far earlier in the over. When Buttler continued to leave his crease, Senanayake carried through with the dismissal.

Buttler's repeated involvement in such dismissals — this in 2014, then Ashwin's in 2019 — made him a central figure in the Mankading debate. His backing up was seen by some as excessively aggressive, while his dismissals were seen by others as unsporting.

“The bowler has every right to do what they did. If the batsman is out of their ground, they're out. It's in the Laws.”

“It's not the way the game should be played. You warn a batsman. You don't just do it in the middle of an over without a word.”

“Moving this Law out of the 'unfair play' section is the right call. It has never been unfair. It's been uncomfortable, but not unfair.”

“Jos Buttler was backing up too far. He was told. He did it again. You can't complain about the consequences.”

The aftermath of non-striker run-out incidents consistently followed a pattern: the fielding team was subjected to intense scrutiny and criticism regardless of whether they had followed any informal warning protocol. The legal/legitimate versus spirit-of-the-game tension was impossible to resolve satisfactorily.

In the 2014 Buttler incident specifically, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews declined to withdraw the appeal after Senanayake had reportedly given Buttler a prior warning about backing up too far. The English cricket establishment reacted angrily. The ICC, however, could not penalise Sri Lanka — the dismissal was entirely within the Laws.

The repetition of Buttler's involvement — first in 2014, then in the 2019 IPL when R. Ashwin dismissed him in the same fashion — made him the defining figure in the non-striker run-out debate. Buttler himself expressed frustration but acknowledged his backing-up habit had been flagged multiple times.