BAN vs SL: Angelo Mathews becomes 1st cricketer to be dismissed by timed-out - What we know about the dismissal

In the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Angelo Mathews was dismissed by timed-out - the first of its kind.

Angelo Mathews

In Match 38 of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023, a highly unusual dismissal occurred, marking the first instance of its kind in world cricket. After Sadeera Samarawickrama's wicket, Angelo Mathews took his time walking to the crease and soon encountered an issue with his helmet and called for a replacement, Bangladesh appealed for a time-out, resulting in Mathews being timed out and dismissed without facing a ball. With this, Mathews became the first international cricketer ever to be dismissed by timed-out.

ALSO READ | 'Is he still 14?' Cricket fans troll Pakistan's Hasan Raza's 'special balls for Indian bowlers' comment

What exactly happened?

The sequence of events unfolded after Mathews walked to the pitch, took his time, and then faced a helmet problem that required a replacement. He failed to reach the crease, prompting Shakib Al Hasan and the Bangladeshi team to appeal for a time-out.

The umpires had to adhere to the rules and allowed the appeal. Mathews attempted to plead his case with the umpires and Shakib, but the former upheld the rules, and the latter chose not to withdraw their appeal.

"This is the first time I have ever witnessed something like this," Russel Arnold was heard saying. That might be the case with most of us.

What does the rule state?

MCC rule for timed out - "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 3 minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, Timed out."

While Mathews was at the crease, his readiness to take strike was hindered by the issue with his helmet. Although the sequence of events followed the rules of the game, commentators expressed dissatisfaction with the decision, talking about the "spirit of the game".

However, the commentators also added, that when the fielding side takes time, they get penalised for an over rate, so the same should be done with the batting side as well. "For each over the fielding team falls short by at the scheduled cessation time of the innings, after taking time allowances into play, they must have an additional fielder inside the ring," the rules state.

Netizens react:

Cricket fans took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to talk about the rare dismissal which has earned mixed reactions.

As for the clash, after 29 overs, Sri Lanka scored 158 runs and lost five wickets after being asked to bat first by Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

Share