SL vs BAN | Twitter in disbelief as fuming Angelo Mathews becomes first batter to be timed out in cricket history

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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For as simple a game as cricket can seem to be, the rulebook keeps throwing up bizarre and unprecedented surprises every once in a while despite the centuries-old history of the sport. Angelo Mathews became an unfortunate first on Monday when Bangladesh appealed for him to be timed out.

Bangladesh turned the screws on Sri Lanka after sending them in to bat first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium and had them reeling at 135/4 halfway through the innings. The Tigers were well on top and seemed to need just another wicket to effectively gain complete control of the encounter and bizarrely enough, their prayers were miraculously answered in a moment bound to go down in not just World Cup but international cricket history.

After Shakib Al Hasan got rid of Sadeera Samawickarama on the second ball of the 25th over, veteran Angelo Mathews was slated to replace him at the crease. The all-rounder walked out onto the pitch in time but just as he was about to face the first ball, Mathews realized the strap of his helmet was broken. He consequently called for a replacement from the dugout and while the players waited for the same, the Bangladesh side got together in a huddle. Tigers' skipper Shakib Al Hasan showed immaculate game awareness to realize the entire event was taking too long and quietly appealed to the umpire to have Mathews timed out.

Law 40.1.1 of MCC's rulebook states, "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 World Cup playing conditions put down the time interval as just two minutes and take precedence over the MCC laws.

Umpires took note of the appeal and asked Mathews to walk off provoking an angry uproar from the 35-year-old. Mathews walked upto Shakib to plead his case but the Bangladesh skipper cut an apologetic figure, evidently claiming he was just playing as per the rule book. After a lengthy conversation with the umpires involving fervent persuasion, Mathews was forced to oblige, becoming the first batter to be timed out in international cricket history. Upon walking back, he indicated to the dugout that he could not help the fact his helmet was broken before flinging it furiously at the LED sideboard. Skipper Kusal Mendis also attempted to take up the issue with the fourth umpire on the sideline but to no avail, sparking a flurry of reactions on social media. 

1st time in cricket history



This unbelievable!

Angelo Mathews is fuming!

Unreal

WTH?

lol

Historic

Against the spirit of the game

Extraordinary

1st time ever

Controversy

Not good

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