In a bizarre and unprecedented turn of events, veteran Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews found himself dismissed in a “timed out” fashion during Sri Lanka’s encounter with Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup on Monday, held at Delhi. This incident marks a historic first in international cricket across all formats.
Mathews entered the crease at No.6 following the wicket of Sadeera Samarawickrama. However, he faced an extraordinary exit before even playing a single delivery, as he was declared “timed out” – a situation not previously witnessed in international cricket.
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The unusual occurrence unfolded in the 25th over of the Sri Lankan innings, just after Shakib Al Hasan had dismissed Samarawickrama, caught by Mahmudullah near the boundary.
Mathews, taking his time to approach the crease, encountered trouble with his helmet as the strap broke while he was taking guard. He signaled to the dressing room for a replacement helmet, resulting in a delay.
During this delay, Bangladesh players, led by Shakib Al Hasan, appealed for a “timed out” dismissal. To Mathews’ dismay, the umpires upheld the appeal.
Despite Mathews signaling equipment issues and engaging in discussions with Bangladesh players and the umpires, the appeal stood, compelling Mathews to return to the pavilion without facing a single ball.
The “timed out” dismissal was explained by the fourth official, Adrian Holdstock, during the innings break. Holdstock clarified that the ICC World Cup playing conditions take precedence over the MCC laws of cricket.
“Timed Out” Law in Cricket Explained
The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 playing conditions pertaining to “timed out” dismissals reads thus:
40.1.1 After the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batter, the incoming batter must, unless Time has been called, be ready to receive the ball, or for the other batter to be ready to receive the next ball within 2 minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, Timed out.
“The ICC World Cup playing conditions supersede the MCC laws of cricket,” Holdstock stated. “We have certain protocols, and the TV umpire monitors the two minutes. He will then relay the message through to the on-field umpires, and in the instance this afternoon, the batter wasn’t ready to receive the ball within those two minutes, even before the strap, what became an issue for him, [broke].”
When asked if equipment failure could be considered a factor, Holdstock emphasized that batters needed to ensure that all equipment was in order before stepping into the field.
“I think you need to make sure that you have all your equipment in place to make sure you get here because you actually have to be ready to receive the ball within two minutes, not ready to prepare or take your guard. So technically you should be there within maybe 15 seconds to make sure all those things are in place before you actually receive the ball.”
“Not good for spirit of game”: Asalanka on Mathews time out dismissal against Bangladesh
Sri Lankan all-rounder Charith Asalanka has also voiced his opinion on the matter, expressing his belief that Mathews’s dismissal by time-out is detrimental to the spirit of cricket.
The incident took place during the 25th over of Sri Lanka’s innings, with Mathews taking his time while walking out to the crease and arriving late to take strike. He also raised an issue regarding the strap of his helmet, which further delayed proceedings. In response, the opposing team, led by Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan, appealed for a time-out, and the umpires ultimately granted the request.
After the conclusion of the first innings, Charith Asalanka shared his thoughts on the controversial decision, emphasizing that such incidents do not align with the core spirit of the game.
Despite the ensuing controversy, Asalanka delivered an exceptional performance with the bat, scoring an impressive 108 runs in just 105 balls. He forged crucial partnerships with Dhananjaya de Silva and Maheesh Theekshana, contributing significantly to Sri Lanka’s total. Although he fell short of his target of achieving a 300-run score during his batting, Asalanka expressed confidence that the team’s total was competitive enough to give them an advantage in the match.
After the end of the first innings, Aslanka talked about the decision and said, “My point of view it’s not good for the spirit of the game. “
“It’s always good feeling when you are getting a hundred and I’m feeling happy now. I love to have a partnership with Dhananjaya because he is a right-hander and I’m a left-hander and he always scores quickly. Credit should go to the pitches, because we can hit the ball through the line. When I was batting, I was looking for 300 but unfortunately, I got out in the 49th over. But, I think we have got enough,” Asalanka added.
Gautam Gambhir calls Angelo Mathews time out dismissal “pathetic”
Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has expressed strong disapproval of the controversial Angelo Mathews time-out dismissal incident that unfolded during Sri Lanka’s clash against Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday, labeling it as “pathetic.”
In an unprecedented turn of events, Angelo Mathews found himself dismissed by a time-out call in the 25th over of Sri Lanka’s first innings. The incident occurred just after Sadeera Samarawickrama had lost his wicket. Mathews, however, took his time while walking out to the crease, arriving to take strike after the stipulated two-minute mark had passed. The delay was further exacerbated as he encountered an issue with the strap of his helmet.
Responding to this unusual sequence of events, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan appealed for a time-out, and the umpires acceded to the request, leading to Mathews’s dismissal.
Gautam Gambhir, known for his candid opinions, took to social media platform X to share his thoughts on the incident. In a succinct but pointed statement, he wrote, “Absolutely pathetic what happened in Delhi today.”
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