Key Highlights :
On Monday, Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews became the first international cricketer in history to be timed out at the ICC World Cup. Mathews, like all batsmen at the tournament, was required to face his first delivery against Bangladesh no more than two minutes after the fall of the last wicket. ICC rules differ slightly to the MCC's official laws, which state that the batter must be ready to go within in three minutes instead of two. Had the World Cup followed Lord's rules, Mathews may have been ready to face the next delivery following Sadeera Samarawickrama's dismissal at 135/4.
However, Bangladeshi fielders saw the batsman was not ready to face Shakib Al Hasan's next ball within the required two-minute timeframe and thus called for timed out. The decision was ultimately upheld by the on-field umpires. Mathews' helmet broke in chaotic circumstances and he was unable to secure a new one before his two-minute timeframe ran out. Bangladesh's appeal was then upheld by the umpires, making the 35-year-old the first player in 146 years of international cricket to fall to the unique dismissal.
Mathews appeared to reason with Al Hasan that the delay only happened because of his helmet breaking, but the captain refused to reverse his appeal. Bangladesh will feel the batsman walked out leisurely and was unaware of the time he was taking ahead of the helmet malfunction.
The most recent example of a batsman nearly being timed out in an international match was back in 2006, when India legend Sachin Tendulkar was late arriving to the crease against South Africa. Amid confusion over whether Tendulkar was permitted to bat, a six-minute delay had passed before Sourav Ganguly was sent out in the batsman's place, but South Africa captain Graeme Smith chose not to appeal.
The timing out of Mathews could prove a crucial blow for Sri Lanka in their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages, with the nation four points behind fourth-placed New Zealand ahead of the World Cup clash. The umpires' decision to uphold the appeal will send a clear message to all batsmen to be aware of the time they are taking when they come out to bat.
In the 146 years of international cricket, Mathews' timing out will go down as a unique moment in the history of the game. The incident will be remembered for a long time as a reminder to all batsmen to be aware of the time they are taking and the rules of the game.