First Time in 146 Years Sri Lankan Batsman Timed Out
Mathews' historic "Timed out" dismissal due to a broken helmet strap in a match against Bangladesh led to post-match tension.
You all know that the ICC Men’s World Cup is going on. On 6th November 2023, there was a match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The match had its heated moments right from the beginning whether it was a war of words between Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis and Bangladesh pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib but all hell broke loose when Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews was given Timed out.
What is timed out?
When Sri Lankan batter Samarawickrama was dismissed, Angelo Mathews came in to bat. However, Mathews faced an unexpected delay due to an issue as his helmet strap was broken, which prevented him from reaching the crease in time to take strike. By the time Mathews was ready, the Bangladesh skipper Shakib al-Hasan had already appealed to the umpire for his dismissal. Mathews tried to convince the Bangladesh skipper and the umpire, however he was given out.
Why was he given out without facing a ball?
According to the rules, 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 within 3 minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If the batsman fails to do so, he will be considered out. However, in World Cups, the time is two minutes. The bowler doesn’t get credit for the wicket. Could Shakib have withdrawn the appeal? The on-field umpires did ask Shakib twice but the Bangladesh captain decided to stand by his decision. When Shakib did not withdraw the appeal, should the umpires have taken Mathews' broken helmet strap into consideration and applied their discretion in giving him the benefit of the doubt? Fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock gave clarification that Mathews had already passed his allotted two minutes before he had issues with his helmet strap. Mathews, however, refused to believe that. He took to social media to make his point, "4th umpire is wrong here! Video evidence shows I still had 5 more seconds even after the helmet gave away! I mean safety is paramount as I just couldn’t face the bowler without a helmet." "Within two minutes I was there. We have video evidence. I'm not just coming and saying things here. I'm talking with proof.” The tension continued well after the match ended in Bangladesh's favour. As soon as Bangladesh got the winning runs, the Sri Lanka players shook hands with the umpires and walked off. They refused to shake hands with the Bangladesh batters. There were no attempts from the Bangladesh camp either to douse the fire. The support staff of both sides, however, did shake hands.
Interestingly, the first dismissal under Caught, Bowled, Run Out, LBW, Stumped took place in 1877 itself. But the ‘Timed out’ remains the only one that did not happen till 2023. With this timed out, Mathews became the first batter in the history of international cricket to get timed out. Earlier in a match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, a Bangladeshi batsman once came without wearing a ball guard, he was given enough time to go and change without being "Timed out". In the 2007 South Africa-India test match, then India captain Sourav Ganguly came close to getting timed out. During the second innings of the match, India lost both its opening batsmen in quick succession. The on-field umpire had even asked the TV umpire to remind the Indian dressing room that Sachin Tendulkar wasn’t allowed to enter the field, but the message was never received. The situation led to chaos, and Ganguly, who was still in his tracksuit, was told to go out to bat. By the time he reached the field, six minutes had elapsed. The umpires explained the “exceptional circumstances” of the incident to the South Africa team, who decided not to appeal. There have been several such instances. When Mathews was asked about Sri Lanka's decision not to shake hands with the Bangladesh players after the match, he said the Bangladesh players didn't respect them or the game and hence they shouldn't ask for cordial behavior in return.
