New Delhi: International cricket witnessed an unprecedented incident during the 2023 ODI World Cup clash between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday.
Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews, batting at number six, faced an unusual dismissal when he was ‘Timed Out’ after taking an extended period to settle down at the crease following the dismissal of Sadeera Samarawickrama. During this time, the veteran cricketer encountered an issue with the strap of his helmet.
Acknowledging the delay, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan and the team appealed the umpires for Mathews’ dismissal based on the ‘Timed Out’ rule. Despite Mathews engaging in a passionate discussion with the umpires to state his case, they ultimately adjudicated him out. Clearly vexed, Mathews displayed his frustration by discarding his helmet.
What do the rules say?
The official playing conditions of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 state that a batsman will be considered “Timed Out” if they fail to be prepared to face the ball within two minutes of the dismissal.
As per law 40.1.1, “After the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batsman, the incoming batsman must, unless Time has been called, be ready to receive the ball, or for the other batsman to be ready to receive the next ball within 2 minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batsman will be out, Timed out.”
This also means that the bowler does not get the credit for the dismissal.
While this happens to be the first occurrence of a “Timed Out” dismissal in international cricket, six cricketers had encountered this form of dismissal in First-Class cricket. Indian cricketer Hemulal Yadav was the first, to experience a “time-out” dismissal in 1997.
“This is the first time I have ever witnessed something like this,” Russell Arnold said during an on air commentary.
Former India batter Gautam Gambhir took to micro-blogging platform ‘X’ to lash out at the “pathetic” dismissal. “Absolutely pathetic what happened Delhi today! #AngeloMathews,” wrote Gambhir.