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Experienced Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews encountered a contentious dismissal during the ODI World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh, marking the tournament's first timed-out incident. The match took place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Monday, November 6. Mathews faced difficulties with his helmet strap, causing a delayed start at the crease. Consequently, he was dismissed following an appeal from Bangladesh.
While many have been blaming Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan for not respecting the 'spirit of cricket', the fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock revealed that Mathews had actually spent more than 2 minutes on the pitch, before his helmet strap broke.
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Speaking during the mid-innings, Holdstock spoke about the MCC rules, saying, "ICC World Cup playing Conditions supersede the entity laws of cricket. When it comes to 'timed out', the incoming batter has to be in position and ready to receive the ball within two minutes after the wicket or retirement of a batter. We have certain protocols within the PCT where the TV Umpire basically monitors for two minutes and then will relay the message to the umpire."
He added that the batter was not ready even before the fielding captain Shakib appealed for 'Timed Out'. "In the instance this afternoon, the batter wasn't ready to receive the ball within those two minutes. Even before the strap became an issue for him. Just to be clear, even before the strap became an issue, the time had already elapsed. Two minutes had already elapsed before he had received the next delivery," he added
"The fielding captain Shakib initiated the appeal to the umpire Marais Erasmus that he wanted to appeal for the 'timed out'. This was just after the strap came loose."
About the equipment malfunction
Many sympathised with Angelo Mathews after this incident, but Holdstock believes that the batter should have all the proper equipment ready when on the field, instead of wasting time.
"As a batter, you need to make sure that you have all your equipment in place. You have to be ready to receive the ball within two minutes. So technically, you should be there within maybe 50 seconds to make sure all those things are in place before you actually receive the ball," concluded the fourth umpire.
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