Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews has become the first-ever player to be timed out in international cricket during the clash against Bangladesh in Delhi during the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.
When a batter is dismissed, the newcomer should be ready to face a ball within two minutes of the fall of a wicket but Mathews was not.
Mathews was ready to take strike when the strap of his helmet broke. The former Sri Lanka captain called for a new helmet and while that wait ensued, Shakib appealed with the umpires consequently ruling the batter timed out.
Earlier, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka’s Cricket World Cup match in New Delhi was given the green light on Monday, as the smog-choked Indian capital was ranked as the planet’s most polluted major city.
The air quality has hovered between “poor” to “severe” in the capital, which has a population of 30 million, in the last few days.
Some players and coaches from both teams trained with face masks on the eve of the match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Before the match, practice sessions were also cancelled while some Bangladesh players who have asthma were confined to their hotel.
What is timed-out rule?
The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup rule 40.1.1 says 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 2 minutes of the dismissal or retirement.
If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, Timed out.
With Mathews taking more than two minutes to face his first ball, he had to be sent back to the pavilion following the appeal.
It was the first time in international cricket, men’s or women’s, that a batter was dismissed according to the “timed out” law.