Angelo Mathews: Timeout

Angelo Mathews was already on the field doing his final preparation before striking again. Shakib al Hassan, his helmet strap broke just as it was strapped around the chin.

New Delhi: The World Cup is in the last week of the competition phase and there are two important things at stake: one is obviously qualifying for the semi-finals, where two spots are still available, and the other is qualifying for the championship trophy in 2025 in Pakistan.

And even though this World Cup didn’t have much spice, apart from the fact that hosts India completely dominated all the teams, Bangladesh captain Shakib ul Hasan added to it by appealing against Angelo Mathews, who was late to strike at the fall of Sri Lanka’s fourth wicket and his appeal was upheld. the first time in the history of cricket, Angelo Mathews was given a timeout.

What is a time-out? Law 40.1 states that after the fall of a wicket or the dismissal of a batter, the incoming batter must be ready to receive the ball or the other batter must be ready to receive the next ball within 2 minutes of dismissing the ball. previous better. or pension.

If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter is called out, which is called a timeout. We all know the rivalry between Srilanka and Bangladesh that started four years ago during the Asia Cup in Srilanka, but no one expected it to take this turn today as both teams were almost eliminated from the World Cup, while Srilanka had won two matches and Bangladesh has won only one match.

At the fall of the fourth Sri Lankan wicket, Angelo Mathews was already on the field and during his final preparation before striking again, Shakib al Hassan, his helmet strap broke just as he tightened around the chin. Mathews called for a replacement helmet which was purchased by 12th man Chamika Karunaratnea. Bangladesh skipper Shakib had a word with the umpire Marais Erasmus, which was a call that Mathews was not ready to strike.

The umpire asked Shakib, ‘Are you serious, to which Shakib said he was serious, the umpire asked again if you were serious, Shakib again said yes and within the rules of the game, Angelo Mathews was given out, which is a time-out under the laws of cricket . The referee declared AngeloMathews out for not being ready to strike within the allotted time. Well, this sounds absurd, but this is what actually happened. Mathews pleaded his case and asked both the umpire and the Bangladesh captain but was denied a reprieve. He stormed back to the pavilion and angrily threw his bat and equipment to show his anger.

The drama wouldn’t end there. The dew had made the ball wet like a bar of soap and the frustrated Sri Lankan team wanted the ball to be changed and all the Sri Lankan players rushed to the referee for a ball change but that didn’t happen. But eventually, when Angelo Mathews got the wicket of Shakib ul Hassan, he pointed to his wrist and signaled to Shakib that it was time to go.

Cricket is known to be a gentleman’s game and as if getting a player out to do a Mankad wasn’t enough, today as Timed Out went out, Angelo Mathews gave a sorry message to the youngsters watching the match watched. Yes, there are rules in cricket, and they must be followed, but appealing to a wicket for arriving late has left a sour taste.

I feel this was against the spirit of the match even though the fielding team was late in completing the overs. This World Cup has seen some great cricket, especially from team India and so many players, but this is the last thing you wanted to see: a batsman getting a timeout.

(By Anis Sajan, cricket enthusiast and businessman based in Dubai)

The views expressed by the author are his personal opinions and the organization owes no allegiance thereto.