BAN Vs SL: Why Angelo Mathews Was Dismissed Before Facing A Ball In ICC Cricket World Cup - 'Timed Out' Explained

In a controversial moment at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews was dismissed via 'timed out' during his team's crucial clash against Bangladesh in Delhi

Outlook Sports Desk

Updated on: 6 November 2023 2:15 pm

An angry Angelo Mathews walks back to the pavillion

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have an 'old history' of being involved in controversial circumstances and their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 fixture was no less. Veteran Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews became the first international cricketer to be 'timed out' after he was deemed of being not ready to face the ball within two minutes of the fall of a wicket against Bangladesh in Delhi on Monday. (Match Blog?|?Scorecard?|?Pics)

The 36-year-old walked out to bat after the dismissal of Sadeera Samarawickrama during the 25th over but had some issues with his helmet strap and signalled for a replacement, prompting Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan to appeal for a 'time out'.

Mathews was seen having an animated discussion with umpire Marais Erasmus and Richard Illingworth, explaining that he had some issue with the helmet strap but the Sri Lankan cricketer was asked to leave the field.

What Does The Law State?
According to the MCC 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, 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."

However, the Cricket World Cup 2023 playing conditions pertaining to "timed out" dismissals reads: "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."

Previous Instances Of Timed Out Dismissals In Cricket

Who	Game	When	Why
Andrew Jordaan	Eastern Province v Transvaal at Port Elizabeth	1987-88	Was not out overnight but delayed getting to ground because of floods
Hemulal Yadav	Tripura v Orissa at Cuttack	1997-98	Talking to team manager and did not attempt to reach crease
Vasbert Drakes	Border v Free State at East London	2002	Was still flying from the West Indies
AJ Harris	Nottinghamshire v Durham UCCE at Nottingham	2003	Was suffering with a groin injury and was unable to move quickly
Ryan Austin	Combined Campuses and Colleges v Windward Islands at Kingstown, St Vincent	2013-14	No obvious reason
Charles Kunje	Matabeleland Tuskers v Mountaineers at Bulawayo	2017-18	Unknown