Sri Lanka star player Angelo Mathews has presented a 'video evidence' supporting the claim that he did not exceed the official time limit of two minutes for a new batter to take guard during Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh Cricket World Cup 2023 match on Monday (November 6) in New Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium. Mathews made cricket history when he was 'timed out' by the umpires for taking more than two minutes to face the bowler after coming in as a new batter following Sadeera Samarawickrama's dismissal.
"4th umpire is wrong here! Video evidence shows I still had 5 more seconds even after the helmet gave away! Can the 4th umpire rectify this please? I mean safety is paramount as I just couldn’t face the bowler without a helmet," Mathews wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
“Proof! From the time catch was taken and the time helmet strap coming off,” Mathews wrote in another post on X.
Following the controversy, Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews is 1st cricketer in history of international cricket to be ruled timed out. Before this incident, only six cricketers had been dismissed as 'timed out' in first-class cricket, with India's Hemulal Yadav being among them.
Angelo Mathews signalled a helmet issue, but when the replacement arrived, Bangladesh had already appealed for a 'timed out' dismissal.
Angelo Mathews fervently appealed to the umpires and Shakib al Hasan, but the appeal stood. Mathews, visibly furious, tossed his helmet in frustration as he left the field.
As per MCC rules, a new batsman must be prepared to face the next delivery or enable the other batter to do so within 3 minutes after a wicket falls or a batsman retires, failing which they are declared out, Timed out.
However, according to the Cricket World Cup 2023 playing conditions, if an incoming batter is not prepared to face the next ball within 2 minutes after a wicket falls or a retirement, they will be declared out, Timed out.