Cricket World Cup 2023: “This is clear cheating; I want justice,” Angelo Mathews demands JUSTICE after controversial ‘timed out’ dismissal against Bangladesh

The rule states that a batter must be ready to face a delivery within two minutes of a wicket falling. But as Mathews' helmet's chainstrip broke he needed to replace it.

Cricket World Cup 2023: “This is clear cheating; I want justice,” Angelo Mathews demands JUSTICE after controversial ‘timed out’ dismissal against Bangladesh

Angelo Mathews (Image via ESPNcricinfo)

The controversial timed-out dismissal of Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews has created considerable buzz in the cricket world. It was for the first time in the history of international cricket a batter was dismissed because he wasn’t ready to face the delivery within the stipulated time of two minutes. The incident happened during Sri Lanka’s penultimate group stage match against Bangladesh on Monday (November 6) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

The rule states that a batter must be ready to face a delivery within two minutes of a wicket falling. But as Mathews’ helmet’s chainstrip broke he needed to replace it.

YouTube video

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan appealed to the umpire who deemed it fit to dismiss the ex-Sri Lankan skipper as per the rules. Mathews did not mince his words while calling out Shakib by sharing screenshots on X to assert that he had five seconds to spare before the chinstrap broke.

Video evidence shows I still had five seconds even after the helmet gave away! Can the fourth umpire rectify this please? I mean safety is paramount, as I just couldn't face the bowler without a helmet. This is clear cheating; I want justice.
Mathews wrote on X.

Check his posts here:

What do the fourth umpire and the cricket fraternity have to say?

Fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock pointed out that even before the chain strap issue, Angelo Mathews was not ready to face the delivery within the mandated two minutes, hence the decision. As the timed-out dismissal stirred controversy, former England captain Michael Vaughan supported the umpire’s decision, calling the spirit of cricket debate “utter nonsense”.

Angelo Matthews timed out
Angelo Mathews (Image via ESPNcricinfo)

Other ex-cricketers like Gautam Gambhir, Mohammad Kaif, Dale Steyn, Usman Khawaja, and Waqar Younis were not in favor of the dismissal and some of them criticized Shakib Al Hasan. Kaif said Shakib should believe in winning, but not “winning at all costs. That was shameful.”

Coming to the match, Sri Lanka posted 279 runs in 49.3 overs which Bangladesh chased down in 41.1 overs, scoring 282/7 and winning the match by three wickets. Shakib scored 82 runs and was dismissed by Mathews.

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