Sri Lanka’s veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews on Tuesday provided a video evidence to prove the umpires wrong in his controversial timed out dismissal during BAN vs SL Cricket World Cup match.
Mathews showed the video with a timeframe to proof that he was at the crease to receive the ball within 2 minutes of the dismissal before his helmet’s strap came off.
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“I rest my case! Here you go you decide”, Mathews tweeted on X along with the video.
What happened?
In a first in international cricket, Mathews was declared timed-out for failing to receive the ball within 2 minutes of the other player’s dimissal. The bizarre incident happened in the 24th over of the Sri Lanka innings. Shakib had just got the wicket of Sadeera Samarawickrama and then Mathews walked to the crease but before he could take his guard, the strap of his helmet came off and he called for a new one.
The Bangladesh fielders then raised an appeal of time out and after a long discussion, the umpires – Richard Illingworth and Marais Erasmus declared Mathews out.
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Fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock later gave clarification about the incident and revealed that Mathews had already passed his allotted two minutes before he had issues with his helmet strap.
“ICC World Cup playing conditions supersede the MCC laws of cricket. When it comes to the timed out, at the fall of a wicket, or even retirement of a batter, the incoming batter has to be in position and ready to receive the ball within two minutes, or his other partner to receive the ball in two minutes,” explained Holdstock in an interview.
However, Mathews took to X after the game and claimed that he still had 5 seconds left before the helmet issue occured.
“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”, Mathews tweeted.
Many former players criticised Bangldesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan for not withdrawing the appeal but the all-rounder said he has “no regrets”.
“I have no regrets. I have been playing against Angelo since our U-19 days. It was 2006 when we played against each other for the first time. What happened was unfortunate for him, but rules are rules,” he said.