Vinoo Mankad Explained

Vinoo Mankad
Country:India
Fullname:Mulvantrai Himmatlal Mankad
Birth Date:12 April 1917
Birth Place:Jamnagar, Bombay Presidency, British India
Death Place:Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Height:178 cm
Batting:Right-handed
Bowling:Slow left arm orthodox
Family:Ashok Mankad
(son)
Nirupama Mankad (daughter-in-law)
Harsh Mankad
(grandson)
International:true
Internationalspan:1946–1959
Testdebutdate:22 June
Testdebutyear:1946
Testdebutagainst:England
Testcap:30
Lasttestdate:11 February
Lasttestyear:1959
Lasttestagainst:West Indies
Club1:Western India
Club2:Nawanagar
Year2:1936–1942
Club3:Hindus
Year3:1936–1946
Club4:Maharashtra
Year4:1943–1944
Club5:Gujarat
Year5:1944–1951
Club6:Bengal
Year6:1948–1949
Club7:Saurashtra
Year7:1950–1951
Club8:Bombay
Year8:1951–1956
Club9:Rajasthan
Year9:1956–1962
Columns:2
Column1:Test
Matches1:44
Runs1:2,109
Bat Avg1:31.47
100S/50S1:5/6
Top Score1:231
Deliveries1:14,686
Wickets1:162
Bowl Avg1:32.32
Fivefor1:8
Tenfor1:2
Best Bowling1:8/52
Catches/Stumpings1:33/–
Column2:First-class
Matches2:233
Runs2:11,591
Bat Avg2:34.70
100S/50S2:26/52
Top Score2:231
Deliveries2:50,122
Wickets2:782
Bowl Avg2:24.53
Fivefor2:38
Tenfor2:9
Best Bowling2:8/35
Catches/Stumpings2:190/–
Date:24 June
Year:2009
Source:http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/30939.html Cricinfo

Mulvantrai Himmatlal "Vinoo" Mankad (; 12 April 1917 – 21 August 1978) was a former Captain of Indian cricket team and appeared in 44 Test matches for India between 1946 and 1959. He was best known for his world record setting opening partnership of 413 runs with Pankaj Roy in 1956, a record that stood for 52 years, and for running out a batsman "backing up" at the non-striker's end. Mankading in cricket is named after him.[1] In June 2021, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.[2] [3]

Early life

Vinoo Mankad was born on Thursday, 12 April 1917 in Jamnagar, in the erstwhile princely state of Nawangar (present-day Gujarat).[4] He learnt how to bowl from cricketers Albert Wensley and KS Duleepsinhji, nephew of the legendary batsman Ranjitsinhji.[5]

Career

An opening batsman and slow left arm orthodox bowler, he played in 44 Tests for India, and made 2109 runs at an average of 31.47 including five Test centuries with a top score of 231. He also took 162 wickets at an average of 32.32, including eight five-wicket hauls. He is one of three cricketers to have batted in every position during his Test career. He was the first Indian to score 1000 Test runs and to take 100 test wickets.[6] He also completed the double of 1000 Test runs and 100 Test wickets in just 23 test matches, which was a then world record and stood nearly for quarter of a century before being surpassed by Ian Botham.[7] According to Scyld Berry, "he was the best left-arm spinner in the world in his time, and the best spinning all-rounder".[8]

1946 England tour

Mankad was included in the India squad that toured England in 1946. Leading up to the First Test of the three-match series, he had played 11 first-class games on the tour averaging 20.9 with the bat and 14.2 with the ball, having picked 44 wickets, the best for India thus far as a bowler.[9] He made his debut at the Lord's opening the batting for India before being bowled out for 14 by England spinner Doug Wright.[10] After "long spells of bowling" in England's first innings, Mankad top-scored for his team with 67 in the second innings. India went on to lose the match by ten wickets. However, Wisden wrote in praise of Mankad calling him a "valuable all-round player" alongside teammates Lala Amarnath and Vijay Hazare.[11] Former England Test cricketer Patsy Hendren rated Mankad as India's "best all-rounder".[12] In the Second Test in Manchester, Mankad claimed a five-wicket haul in England's first innings.[13] He contributed 42 with the bat and picked two wickets in a drawn cause in the final Test at the Oval.[14] Mankad completed the tour with a double of a thousand runs and hundred wickets, the first tourist to achieve the feat since Learie Constantine of the West Indies in 1928.[15] He finished with 1,120 runs at 28.00 and 129 wickets at 20.76 apiece.[16] John Arlott wrote of him: "From his first over in England, Mankad was a good slow left-hander. By the end of the tour, there is little doubt that he was the best slow left-arm bowler in the world."[15] Wisden chose him as one of its five Cricketers of the Year.[17]

Australia tour

Mankad's 1947–48 Australia tour began on a positive note after he claimed a five-wicket haul in the first match in Western Australia's first innings.[18] He picked four wickets in the second game against South Australia including that of Don Bradman,[19] while making an unbeaten 116 with the bat.[20] Against Cricket Australia XI, he returned figures of 8/84 in the final innings helping his team win by 47 runs.[21] He had a poor start to the Test series, and was dismissed by Australia's pacer Ray Lindwall for 0 and 7 at Brisbane, and 5 and 5 at Sydney. Mankad subsequently modified his back-lift of the bat from high to low for the remainder of the series after being advised by Lindwall himself and went on to score centuries at the Third and Fifth Tests in Melbourne.[22] In reply to Australia's 394 in the Third Test, Mankad put on 124 runs for the first wicket with Chandu Sarwate, and reached his debut century in 139 minutes in the first innings.[23] After a first innings score of 49 in Adelaide,[22] Mankad scored 111 in the last Test in Melbourne, his making his second century of the series. Batting for five hours, he added 124 runs with Hemu Adhikari for the second wicket.[24] However, India went on to lose the match and the series, 4–0.[25] Mankad finished the tour with 889 first-class runs at 38.65 which included a total of three centuries, while claiming 61 wickets with the ball, the most for India.[26]

Later career

Mankad's best performance was against England at Lord's in 1952. In the first innings, he top-scored with 72. During England's first innings, he bowled 73 overs and took 5 wickets for 196 runs.[27] In India's second innings in that Test match, he top-scored again with 184 runs out of India's total of 378. Though England won the game easily, Mankad's all-around performance salvaged India's pride in a series where they were heavily outmatched. Mankad was the first player in more than 30 years to score a 100 and take five wickets in the same Test and the first Indian to achieve this feat. As such, he is one of only three non-England 'away' players whose names appear on both batting and bowling honours boards at Lords. (The other two are Keith Miller and Sir Gary Sobers).

Also memorable was his role earlier in the same year against England in Madras. He took 8/52 in England's first innings and 4/53 in the second helping India beat England for the first time in a Test match.

In 1956 he hit 231 against New Zealand at Chennai and together with Pankaj Roy established the then world record opening partnership of 413 runs which stood for 52 years. His score was a Test record for India at the time and would remain so until it was broken in 1983 by Sunil Gavaskar.[28]

Playing for Tonge in the Bolton Cricket League, Mankad picked up 54 wickets in the 1961 season, becoming the first player to claim more than 50 wickets in a season in the league.[29]

Mankading

Mankad caused controversy in 1947/48 on India's tour of Australia when he ran out Bill Brown at the non-striker's end in the second Test. Mankad paused during the delivery stride of his bowling run-up and broke the wicket while Brown was out of his crease backing up the striker in the accepted manner.[30] He had done the same thing to Brown in the game against an Australian XI earlier on the tour, but his running out of Brown infuriated the Australian media, and running someone out in this way is now referred to around the world as "Mankading".[31] Although such an act is not an infringement of the laws of cricket, to some it is considered unsporting and against the spirit of the game.

However, famed cricketer Sir Don Bradman in his autobiography defended Mankad's action, saying:

For the life of me, I can't understand why [the press] questioned his sportsmanship. The laws of cricket make it quite clear that the non-striker must keep within his ground until the ball has been delivered. If not, why is the provision there which enables the bowler to run him out? By backing up too far or too early, the non-striker is very obviously gaining an unfair advantage.

While perfectly legal, some contend that by convention, a bowler should at least warn a batsman who persists in backing up too far before dismissing him in that fashion. Mankad himself had warned Brown before dismissing him in this fashion in the earlier game.[31] Courtney Walsh likewise received praise for warning rather than dismissing Saleem Jaffar, who was backing up during the 1987 World Cup.

Honours

An under 19 domestic tournament in India organized by the BCCI, the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, has been named in his honour.[32] [33] [34] [35]

The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan in 1973.[36]

The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai has a gate named after him.[37]

A statue in his honor was erected in his birthplace, Jamnagar, Gujarat.[38]

He was one of the ten inductees in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame ahead of the 2021 ICC World Test Championship final.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2020-10-08. Vinoo Mankad: The Indian legend from whom 'Mankading' originated. 2021-06-13. DNA India. en.
  2. News: PTI. 2021-06-13. Vinoo Mankad among 10 ICC Hall of Fame special inductees ahead of WTC final. en-IN. The Hindu. 2021-06-13. 0971-751X.
  3. Web site: 2021-06-13. Vinoo Mankad named in ICC's Hall of fame list ahead of WTC final. 2021-06-13. HindustanTimes. en.
  4. Web site: 2017-04-11 . Remembering Vinoo Mankad, India’s greatest all-rounder . 2023-02-19 . sportstar.thehindu.com . en.
  5. Web site: Chakrabarti . Angana . 2020-04-12 . Vinoo Mankad, spirited cricketer who gave the world 'Mankading' in 1947, right upto 2019 . 2023-02-19 . ThePrint . en-US.
  6. Web site: The man behind the 'Mankad'. 2021-06-13. www.icc-cricket.com. en.
  7. News: Agencies. 2017-04-11. Record-setting, pioneering all-rounder. en-IN. The Hindu. 2021-06-13. 0971-751X.
  8. News: The Daily Telegraph (sport section). Berry. Scyld. Vinoo Mankad deserves better than his infamy for cricket's most controversial dismissal. 12. 2022-09-27.
  9. News: First Test at Lord's . The Indian Express . 22 June 1946.
  10. News: India Out For 200: England Lose 4 Wickets For 135 . The Indian Express . 23 June 1946 . 1.
  11. Web site: First Test – Match Report . Wisden Cricketers' Almanack . 20 January 2021.
  12. News: Hendren . Patsy . Patsy Hendren . Mankad, Best All-rounder . The Indian Express . 26 June 1946 . 5.
  13. News: England All Out For 294 In Manchester test . The Indian Express . 23 July 1946 . 5.
  14. Web site: Third Test – Match Report . Wisden Cricketers' Almanack . 21 January 2021.
  15. Web site: Dutta . Anindya . A dinner in 1946 . ESPNcricinfo . 20 January 2021 . en . 25 June 2018.
  16. Web site: Ramchand . Partab . Partab Ramchand . Learning to crawl - 1946 . ESPNcricinfo . 20 January 2021 . 1 August 2002.
  17. Web site: Pandya . Haresh . India's rock of ages . ESPNcricinfo . 21 January 2021 . en . 12 April 2017.
  18. News: Indians Fare Well Under Adverse Conditions . The Indian Express . 21 October 1947 . 3.
  19. News: Hazare's Brilliant Innings Against S. Australia . The Indian Express . 26 October 1947 . 3.
  20. News: Mankad and Amarnath's Bid For Win Spoiled By Time . The Indian Express . 29 October 1947 . 3.
  21. News: India's Great Victory Over Australian XI . The Indian Express . 19 November 1947 . 7.
  22. Web site: Viswanath . G. . Saurashtra's rich legacy . The Hindu . 21 January 2021 . en-IN . 24 January 2013.
  23. News: Mankad 116: First Century In Tests . . 3 January 1948 . 3.
  24. News: India Fights Back With Splendid Determination In Test . The Indian Express . 10 February 1948 . 7.
  25. Web site: AUSTRALIA v INDIA 1947-48 . ESPNcricinfo . Wisden.
  26. Web site: When India prepared for an Australia tour with an 8-ball-over match . Cricket Country . 21 January 2021 . 5 November 2016.
  27. Web site: Lord's Honours Board: The Best Indian XI . International Cricket Council . 17 August 2018.
  28. Web site: 2017-04-11. Remembering Vinoo Mankad, one of India's finest all-rounders with long-enduring Test records. 2021-06-13. The News Minute. en.
  29. News: Mankad Takes 54 Wkts. For Season . The Indian Express . 17 July 1961 . 10.
  30. Web site: The man behind the 'Mankad'. 2021-06-13. Daily News. en.
  31. Book: Frindall, Bill . Ask Bearders . Bill Frindall . 2009 . BBC Books. 978-1-84607-880-4 . 131–132 .
  32. News: Vinoo Mankad Trophy begins today. The Hindu . 9 October 2015. www.thehindu.com.
  33. Web site: Karnataka emerge Vinoo Mankad champs. 15 October 2017.
  34. Web site: All India under-19 Vinoo Mankad Trophy: Talent-rich UP extend legacy in junior cricket. India Today.
  35. News: Vinoo Mankad trophy: Hyderabad dish out decent performance. 9 October 2017. Deccan Chronicle. 12 August 2022.
  36. Web site: Padma Awards . Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India . 2015 . 21 July 2015 . 17 November 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171117004138/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf . dead .
  37. Web site: MCA ::: Wankhede Stadium . 2024-06-25 . www.mumbaicricket.com.
  38. Web site: The Sporting Statues Project: Vinoo Mankad: Bhidbhanjan Road, Jamnagar, Gujarat . 2024-06-25 . www.offbeat.group.shef.ac.uk.