Angelo Mathews on Monday (November 6) became the first player in the history of international cricket to be ruled timed out in Match 38 of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
The incident happened during the 25th over of Sri Lanka’s innings. Mathews leisurely arrived in the middle and just before he was getting ready to face the first ball, he felt something wrong with his helmet. Consequently, the Sri Lankan cricketer gestured towards the dressing room, asking for a new helmet.
While the 12th man ran with a helmet, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan had already appealed for a timed out against Mathews and the latter had to walk back to the pavilion, much to the shock of the entire cricket fraternity.
After the game, Mathews launched an all-out attack on Shakib and Bangladesh, calling the act ‘disgraceful’.
The veteran all-rounder also tweeted screengrabs of match footage, showing the timestamps of Sadeera Samarawickrama’s dismissal and him arriving at the crease to back his claim that five seconds were still remaining before the deadline of two minutes would’ve ended.
“Proof! From the time catch was taken and the time helmet strap coming off,” Mathews wrote.
During the innings break, fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock told the broadcasters: “When it comes to timed out, the incoming batter has to be in position and ready to receive a ball within two minutes and we have certain protocols where the TV umpire at a fall of the wicket monitors the two minutes and he will relay the message on to the on field umpires.”
“In the instance this afternoon, the batter wasn’t ready to receive the ball within those two minutes, even before the strap became an issue,” he added.
However, Mathews didn’t hesitate to point out that the fourth umpire was wrong on this occasion.
“4th umpire is wrong here! Video evidence shows I still had 5 more seconds even after the helmet gave away! Can the 4th umpire rectify this please? I mean safety is paramount as I just couldn’t face the bowler without a helmet,” Mathews wrote in another post.
Notably, the incident triggered a massive controversy. The Sri Lankan players refused to shake hands with their Bangladeshi counterparts after the match.
