FACING India at Lord’s might bring back some unhappy memories for England all-rounder Charlie Dean, but she has been able to see the lighter side of her controversial ‘Mankad’ dismissal three years ago, according to team-mate Alice Davidson-Richards today.

The teams meet at the home of cricket tomorrow for the first time since a controversial finish in 2022, when India spinner Deepti Sharma pulled out of her action and ran Dean out backing up at the non-striker’s end.

The rarely used mode of dismissal, while entirely legal, caused a familiar row about the spirit of cricket and India were booed off after Dean was seen in tears as she left the field.

There were disputes about whether Dean had been warned or not – with Sharma insisting she had before England skipper Heather Knight took to social media to insist otherwise.

But as the sides prepare to meet in the second one-day international, with the hosts needing to win to take the series to a decider, the rancour has been replaced by mirth.

“Did something funny happen a few years ago? Charlie may have mentioned it once or twice,” said all-rounder Davidson-Richards.

“It’s been mentioned in more of a jokey way. It’s something we can laugh at and I think Charlie finds it funny to joke around with it. We’re just excited for the team to get going.”

Dean was just a year into her international career when she caught in the Mankad maelstrom but has since become an integral part of the side and was spoken of as an outside bet for the captaincy before Nat Sciver-Brunt replaced Knight earlier this year.

In a way, her time at the centre of a controversy may even have accelerated her growth.

“I think, as with any other cricketing experience, it’s another game that you’re going to learn from,” said Davidson-Richards.

“Whether it’s that sort of incident or whether it’s bowling the last over to close out a game for the team, Charlie has played so many games now and is such a smart cricketer. For her it’s just another game of cricket.”

India opener Pratika Rawal has been censured by the International Cricket Council for making ‘avoidable physical contact’ with opponents Lauren Filer and Sophie Ecclestone during her side’s win at the Rose Bowl.

Rawal was fined 10 per cent of her match fee and punished further with one demerit point but insisted there was nothing malicious in her actions.

“It was not intentional, that shoulder barge thing was not deliberate. I don’t think there’s a reaction or a fuss out of it,” she said.