Mathews gives cheeky wristwatch send-off after dismissing Shakib

Angelo Mathews gave Shakib Al Hasan a cheeky send-off by tapping his wrist after the Bangladesh captain successfully appealed for “timed out” to the onfield umpires in the first innings of the ICC World Cup 2023 clash in Delhi between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In a bizarre turn of events, Mathews became the first international batter to be dismissed in that manner.

According to the ICC Playing Conditions for the World Cup, the incoming batter has to “be ready to receive the ball” within two minutes of a dismissal or a batter retiring. For Tests, the corresponding time limit is three minutes, and for T20Is it is 90 seconds.

Sadeera Samarawickrama was dismissed at 15:49 local time according to official scorers at the Arun Jaitley Stadium whereas Mathews was timed out at 15:54 local time. He was preparing to take strike after the dismissal of Samarawickrama when his helmet strap broke. He gestured to the dugout for a new helmet but didn’t bring the same to the notice of Shakib Al Hasan, the opposition captain who went on to Mathews tried to explain the situation to Marais Erasmus and Richard Illingworth, the onfield umpires, but his pleadings were to no avail. As the Bangladesh players rejoiced, Mathews walked off visibly upset.