The England vs Australia third ODI in Manchester saw Glenn Maxwell and Alex Carey share a record 212-run stand for the sixth wicket that saw Australia end England’s five-year ODI domination at home. Maxwell and Carey’s centuries helped Australia recover from 73/5 to chase down 303 and win the ODI series 2-1. However, during the England innings, there was one incident which again divided the cricket world over the ‘spirit of the game’.

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During the final overs of the England innings, Mitchell Starc was running into bowl. Adil Rashid, at the non-striker’s end, was backing up too far. Mitchell Starc aborted his run-up and only warned Rashid to not back up too far. Starc could have mankaded Rashid but he chose not to. One fan pointed this out and tagged Ravichandran Ashwin by stating, “Please learn something @ashwinravi99, This is how you play the game.”

Ashwin has been involved in an intense mankading debate in the last year after he did it to Jos Buttler in the IPL 2019 clash between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals. Ashwin responded to the tweet by saying, “I believe in fighting the good fight but wait till the day after and I will get back to you on this. I would like to give a day to myself.”

Mankading debate

Delhi Capitals (DC) cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has come up with a new idea, amid the ongoing debate over Mankad, claiming that there should be a 'free ball' for bowlers similar to how 'free hit' exists for the batsmen ahead of the IPL 2020 kickoff. As per the rules, a free hit is awarded to the batting team when someone bowls a no-ball in an over. After the no-ball, the subsequent delivery is called 'free hit' and the batsman cannot be dismissed on that delivery other than run out. Ashwin suggested there should be a 'free ball' if the batsman on the non-striker end leaves the crease before the ball is bowled. Also, if the batsman gets out on the 'free ball', batting side 'will be docked five runs.'

"Make it a free ball for the bowler. If the batsmen get out of that ball, the batting team will be docked 5 runs. Free hit adds to the drama for a batter, let's give a chance to the bowlers too. As of now, everyone watches the game hoping that 'the bowlers will get smacked today'," Ashwin tweeted.