Angelo Mathews timed out: How Sri Lanka batter made international history at Cricket World Cup

Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews became the first batter to be timed out in international cricket during Monday’s World Cup group-stage match against Bangladesh in Delhi.

So what happened, what do the Laws say and what has the reaction been?

Scroll to the end to vote and have your say.

What happened?

• Mathews walks to the crease after Sadeera Samarawickrama is dismissed by the second ball of the 25th over.
• The 35-year-old is standing in his crease and about to take guard when he readjusts his helmet. The chinstrap, which goes around the jaw, breaks as he tries to tighten it.
• Mathews notices immediately as it snaps in his hand and calls for a new helmet.
• He speaks to Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, showing him the damage to his helmet and asking for time to be allowed for a replacement to be brought out.
• Mathews is then seen speaking to umpires Richard Illingworth and Marais Erasmus.
• Erasmus then speaks to Shakib, potentially to ask if he is appealing for a dismissal.
• Mathews then speaks to Shakib and the Bangladesh team huddle again before Erasmus tells the Sri Lankan to leave the field.
• Mathews eventually accepts his fate, after another exchange with Shakib, and trudges off, throwing his broken helmet into the drink boxes on the sidelines as he walks off.
• He throws more equipment as he walks up the stairs towards the dressing room, from where Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis comes down and is seen having an animated conversation with fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock and Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha.
• Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood is seen speaking to Holdstock later on.
• During the change of innings, Holdstock said “the batter wasn’t ready within those two minutes even before the strap became an issue for him”, suggesting the helmet delay was not the reason for his unusual dismissal.

What is the Law?

To make matters even more confusing, the International Cricket Council (ICC) applies a different timeframe than the Laws of the game, which are determined by MCC.

The Laws apply to all cricket, except where specific playing conditions are implemented for particular tournaments, leagues or matches.

Law 40.1.1 refers to a batter timed out, and reads: “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 three minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, Timed out.”

However, the ICC’s playing conditions for this World Cup read: “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.”

In essence, Mathews only had two minutes, rather than three, to be ready to face his first ball.

BBC Sport has re-watched the incident, frame by frame, and from the moment of the ball landing in the fielder’s hands for the previous wicket to the time Mathews touches the strap on his helmet, it took one minute and 54 seconds, with Mathews unlikely to have been in any position to receive the ball in time before two minutes were up. Others batters before him were ready to face inside 100 seconds.

Samarawickrama was dismissed at 10:19:05 GMT and Mathews started to make his way off the field at 10:25:30, more than five minutes after the previous dismissal.

Mathews could have batted without a helmet – they are not required in matches overseen by the ICC, unlike in England and Wales – but opted not to.

What has the reaction been?

The reaction has been mixed.

Former Ireland wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien, from the BBC Test Match Special team, said: “I think he was ready to face the ball. He was on the pitch and his equipment failed him. I think there was a mistake there.”

Ex-Bangladesh batter Athar Ali Khan, who was part of the TV coverage, said: “I don’t like what I’m seeing, it is not good for the game. It’s against the spirit of the game, that’s how I feel about it.

“If something goes wrong with the helmet you should be allowed an extra couple of minutes to fix it.

“It is the first time we’re seeing this in cricket, it is not good scenes, I must say that. I would have definitely called him back.”

Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja was also commentating on TV and felt the umpires dealt with the situation well.

“To a certain degree it is an onus on cricketers to learn the rules and understand the spirit of the rules,” said Raja.

“Most of us don’t, but the umpires were on top of the situation. It was a tough call to make.

“You’ve got back the Law here and be more understanding of what you’re trying to do and what the Law is.”

Speaking between innings, fourth umpire Holdstock said: “The TV umpire monitors the two minutes and he will then relay the message to the standing umpire. In this instance the batter wasn’t ready within those two minutes even before the strap became an issue for him. The two minutes had already elapsed.

“According to the playing conditions, the fielding captain requested/initiated to the standing umpire that he wanted to appeal for timed out.

“As a batsman you need to make sure all your equipment is in place. You have to be ready to receive the ball in two minutes, not just take your guard. So technically you need to be in place after around 15 seconds so you can get ready to receive the ball.”

When were the other instances?

This is the seventh instance of the Law being used, but the first in international and limited-overs cricket, as all previous occasions came in domestic first-class cricket.

Now have your say…

Do you think Mathews should have been given out? Vote below.

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