Not good for the spirit of the game: Asalanka on Matthew’s ‘timed out’ dismissal

In a bizarre turn of events, Angelo Mathews became the first international batter to be dismissed ‘timed out’ in the ICC World Cup 2023 clash in Delhi between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. 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 successfully appeal for “timed out” to the onfield umpires. 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. He was seen displaying the helmet to head coach Chris Silverwood before throwing it in anger and stomping off towards the change room. Charith Asalanka opined that the dismissal, while well within the laws of the game, was bad from the spirit of cricket standpoint.