After becoming the first batter to be deemed 'timed out' in international cricket, former Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews expressed disappointment over Shakib Al Hasan’s appeal to the umpires and said it was “disgraceful.”
“Absolutely disgraceful. We all play to win but I never thought a team or player would stoop to such levels to get a wicket,” Mathews told the media after the game.
“I did nothing wrong. I reached the crease in time. It was an equipment malfunction and I was not wasting time or trying to gain an advantage. Common sense should have prevailed,” he added.
What Happened?
In the 25th over of the 2023 ICC World Cup game between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, veteran campaigner Angelo Mathews walked out to bat following Sadeera Samarawickrama's dismissal.
While he was slow to get to the 22 yards, Mathews' helmet strap broke while he was trying to make it tighter, before he took his stance. The former Lankan skipper subsequently called a substitute for a replacement helmet, which was delivered to him, but by then, Bangladesh's captain Shakib al Hasan chose to appeal – on grounds of the batter not being ready within the stipulated two-minute duration.
Lost Respect for Shakib - Angelo
“This (what Shakib did) was bringing the game into disrepute. This was not something like Mankading or Obstructing the Field where the rules are pretty clear. If the non-striker is out of his ground, he can be run out. If the batsman intentionally gets into the path of a throw to stop it from hitting the stumps, he can be declared out. But this is not such a case.”
“We show respect to people who respect us. We are all ambassadors of the game. I had the utmost respect for Shakib, until today. He had the choice to take back his appeal, but didn’t do so.” the Sri Lankan veteran said.
Player Safety
Mathews also reckoned that had it been any other opponent, they would not have done what Bangladesh did.
“I don’t think if it would have been any other team, they would have done what Bangladesh did.”
He asserted that the entire situation was about player safety, not just rule interpretation. However, it was speculated that he could have faced the first ball in the allotted time without a helmet and then taken his time changing it after the strap broke.
“We talk all the time about the safety of players. Even wicket keepers wear helmets while standing up to spinners. How would I know that the strap would break? How can I take guard without the helmet? Such an incident has never happened in my 15-year career,” the all-rounder said.
Umpires at Fault?
The Lankan also expressed his displeasure with the umpires' decisions, stating that he would provide video evidence that he was ready to take the strike before the 2-minute time limit.
“Whose fault is this? It’s just a technicality and common sense should have been used. The umpires have a bigger job in such circumstances,” he said.
“We have video evidence that I was ready to take strike with five seconds left in the two-minute time limit. The umpires could have checked before arriving at a decision,” he added.
Later, the 36-year-old took to micro blogging site ‘X’ to make his point.
Replying to an article by the International Council of Cricket (ICC) on his reaction upon dismissal, he wrote, "4th umpire is wrong here! Video evidence shows I still had 5 more seconds even after the helmet gave away! Can the 4th umpire rectify this please? I mean safety is paramount as I just couldn’t face the bowler without a helmet.”
"Proof! "From the time the catch was taken and the time the helmet strap came off," he wrote in another response, including screenshots of the time difference between when Samarawickrama was out and Mathews was standing on the crease.
Speaking about the match, Sri Lanka scored 279 runs thanks to a century from Charith Asalanka. In response, Shakib hit 82 off 65 balls and Najmul Shanto hit 90 as Bangladesh cruised home with three wickets in hand and 8.5 overs to spare.
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