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Why Botham has a beef with Chatfield

Ian Anderson ian.anderson@stuff.co.nz

‘‘Put it this way, I’m not on Botham’s Christmas card list.’’

Ewen Chatfield knows what it’s like to feel the wrath of the opposing side after using the controversial ‘Mankad’method of dismissal.

The debate over the tactic arose again this week after India’s Deepti Sharma used it to seal an ODI series win against England at Lord’s on Sunday.

The New Zealand seamer ran out England’s Derek Randall at the nonstriker’s end while bowling in the second test in Christchurch in 1978.

It was just the third time in 31 years that the method of dismissal – named after the first player to perform it in tests, India’s Vinoo Mankad – had occurred at the highest level of five-day games.

Chatfield, now 72, said this week that it happened as he felt the strain of the visitors pushing for a victory to level the series after suffering a shock first defeat to New Zealand in the opening test inWellington.

After narrowly failing to make New Zealand follow-on at the end of the first innings, England sought quick runs for a declaration in their second turn at bat at Lancaster Park on day four.

‘‘We were under a bit of pressure, and I was bowling, and I suppose I was under a bit of pressure too,’’ Chatfield said as Randall was batting at No 3 in partnership with Geoff Boycott.

The famed opener, however, was scoring at his trademark unhurried rate, so Randall was trying his utmost to run as many as he could.

‘‘They were turning twos into threes because Randall had a quite a hefty head-start,’’ Chatfield said, indicating the non-striking batter was leaving his crease before the ball had been bowled.

‘‘I could see out of the corner of my eye that was happening, and Bruce Edgar was fielding atmid-on and I asked him to keep an eye on him and this was what was happening.

‘‘Although I don’t know whether I did warn him directly, he could hear Bruce and I talking – and the character he [Randall] is, he probably didn’t take any notice of it.’’

With England 47-1 and Randall on 13 from 16 balls, Chatfield underarmed the bails off when he reached the stumps, with the batter well out of his ground and umpire Fred Goodall gave him out on appeal.

The reaction from the tourists was immediate.

‘‘It wasn’t good,’’ Chatfield laughed. ‘‘Put it this way, I’m not on Botham’s Christmas card list.’’

England’s star allrounder Ian Botham was the next man in and let the bowler know his thoughts.

It’s been reported he told Chatfield – who was almost killed by a bouncer which struck him on the head on test debut versus England three years earlier – that he’d nearly died on a cricket field once and ‘‘who knows what could happen again’’.

‘‘I can’t remember that happening – but I wouldn’t be surprised,’’ Chatfield said.

Daily Express UK’s Pat Gibson wrote: ‘‘New Zealand’s reputation for fair play is in the gutter after the meanest act I have seen on a cricket field.’’

Soon after, Botham was involved in a run-out which ended Boycott’s innings of 26 from 80 balls.

‘‘They’d sent out Botham to get rid of Boycott, ran him out because he was too slow.’’

England declared with a lead of 279 and then dismissed New Zealand on the final day for just 105 to win by 174 runs.

It was Chatfield’s fourth test – and his next appearance wasn’t until four years later.

‘‘It was probably a factor in me getting dropped for the next test,’’ he said.

‘‘It happened quite a bit in that era that if we got beaten, Warren Lees and I would be given the chop and Jock Edwards and Lance Cairns would take our place – so maybe it was going to happen anyway.’’

But he was never officially told of any disapproval.

‘‘I don’t even know if the players in our team were happy about it – but it’s one of those things that happen when you’re put under pressure a bit.

‘‘I haven’t done it again and I won’t do it again,’’ said Chatfield, who only stopped playing grade cricket in Wellington three years ago.

Chatfield wasn’t the first New Zealander bowler to run out a batter at the non-striker’s end when he thought his rival was cheating to steal a run.

Bill Hendley did it twice in consecutive seasons when bowling for Otago in the mid-1860s in their annual fixture against Canterbury.

Hendley, born in England, hardly needed assistance to get wickets – in eight first-class games for the association, the right-arm medium-pacer took 37 wickets at an average of just 8.48, including a stunning 8-28 from 24.2 overs as his best return in 1869.

Four seasons before Mankad hit the headlines, Ray Allen ran out John Smith when bowling for Wellington against Canterbury.

Chatfield wasn’t the last either – off-spinning allrounder Dipak Patel dismissed Zimbabwe’s Grant Flower in this manner in an ODI in Harare in 1992, after reportedly given the batter several warnings.

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2022-10-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-10-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

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