It was dubbed as a dead rubber, but trust Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to spice it up. History, albeit unwanted, was made in the ODI World Cup clash between the two sides on November 6 in Delhi, when Angelo Mathews became the first batter to be declared 'Timed Out' in international cricket.
Mathews had walked in after Sadeera Samarawickrama was dismissed off the second ball of the 25th over bowled by Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan. But, he was not ready to face the ball within two minutes as the strap of his helmet broke. The delay prompted Bangladesh to appeal and the umpires upheld it despite Mathews's repeated pleas.
Bangladesh went on to beat Sri Lanka by three wickets, thus knocking them out of the World Cup officially.
What the rule says
Article 40.1.1 of the ICC playing conditions for the 2023 World Cup states that: "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 two minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, Timed out."
Mathews provides proof
The veteran all-rounder took to X (formerly Twitter) to claim that he was at the crease five seconds before the stipulated time and was ready to face the ball. He said the further delay was caused by the broken helmet strap, as it was not safe to face the bowler without the helmet.
Mathews shared time-stamped screenshots, too, to prove his point.
Proof! From the time catch was taken and the time helmet strap coming off pic.twitter.com/2I5ebIqkGZ
— Angelo Mathews (@Angelo69Mathews) November 6, 2023
Australian batter Usman Khawaja, too, questioned how could Mathews be given 'Timed Out' when his helmet strap broke while he was at the crease.
Fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock in an on-pitch interview after the match, said, "In the incident this afternoon, the batter wasn't ready to receive the ball within those two minutes even before the strap became an issue for him. As a batsman, I think you need to make sure you have all your equipment in place, because you actually have to be ready to receive the ball within two minutes, not ready to prepare or take your guard."
The ICC is yet to comment on the matter or issue any clarification.
Players refuse to shake hands
Sri Lankan players were in no mood to forget the incident and move on during and after the match, as was evident from Mathews's send-off to Shakib, and the players' refusal to shake hands after the match.
"You want to respect people who respect us. We are all ambassadors of this beautiful game. If you don't respect and use your common sense then what more you can ask for," Mathews said at the post-match presentation, when asked why Sri Lankan players did not shake hands with their opponents after the match.
What Mathews and Shakib said about the incident
"I haven't done anything wrong,” Mathews said during the post-match press conference. “I had two minutes to get ready which I did but there was an equipment malfunction and I don't know where common sense (had) gone. It was disgraceful from Shakib and Bangladesh.
"If they want to play cricket like that, stoop to that level, it is something wrong drastically. If I got late, past my two minutes and the law says I have to get ready in two minutes, I still had five more seconds to go,” the 36-year-old said.
"Until today I had utmost respect for him (Shakib) and Bangladesh team, obviously we all play to win and if it is within rules it is fine. But within two minutes I was there... we have video evidence. We will bring out a statement later. I am talking with proof from the time the catch was taken and then I got to the crease."
"We talk about player safety. So, should I have played without my helmet on? So the umpires had a bigger job, they could have checked upstairs. Even wicketkeepers don't open their helmet. It is common sense. It was complete equipment malfunction.
"In my 15 years, I have never seen a team going down to this level.... Unfortunately it happens with Bangladesh. I don't think any other team would do that. Shakib had the option, they knew it was not time wasting. He had the choice (to not approach the umpires), but he decided to go the other way."
When Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan was asked if he had any regrets about his decision to appeal, he said, "No, not at all. I mean, one of our fielders came to me and said if you go by the law, he's out because he had not taken guard within the time-frame.
"So then, I appealed to the umpire. We played Under-19 World Cup together, so I know Angelo for a long time since 2006. Yeah, I'm better within the rules."
Asked if it was against the spirit of cricket, Shakib said, "Well, then ICC should change the rules."
Asked what Mathews told him when the incident happened, he said, "He came and asked me whether I will withdraw my appeal or not. I said, 'you know, I understand your situation'. It was unfortunate, but I don't want to."
