New Dehli: Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews earned the dubious distinction of being the first ever player in international cricket to be ‘timed out’ in Monday’s World Cup match against Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Former Sri Lanka captain Mathews walked in after the fall of Sadeera Samarawickrama in the 25th over of the Sri Lankan innings but found the chinstrap of his helmet broken before he could take guard against bowler Shakib Al Hasan.
Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews, right, talks to umpires after he was declared timed out during the World Cup match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.Credit: AP
Mathews removed his helmet and gestured to the dressing room asking for a replacement helmet as the clock ticked by.
Under the tournament’s playing conditions, a new batter should be ready to face the ball within two minutes but Mathews was seen still waiting for teammate Chamika Karunaratne to run in with a new helmet.
Shakib was seen chatting with umpire Marais Erasmus before making an appeal and the batter was adjudged timed out.
Mathews remonstrated with the umpires for a while before leaving the pitch shaking his had in dismay and threw his helmet soon after crossing the boundary.
“My point is that Mathews’ dismissal was not good for the spirit of cricket,” Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka, who smashed a century in the match, told the broadcasters.
Former Bangladesh captain Athar Ali Khan echoed the same view while commentating on the match.
