Angelo Mathews becomes first international cricketer to be timed out

Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews has made unwanted history after becoming the first player in 146 years of international cricket to be timed out.

Mathews walked in after the fall of Sadeera Samarawickrama during the 25th over of Sri Lankan’s innings against Bangladesh at the World Cup in India but appeared to have issues with the strap of his helmet. The Sri Lankan No 6 six signalled for a new helmet before facing a ball and the Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan then appealed to the umpire for the batter’s wicket, as he was not ready to face his first ball within the two minutes required by the competition rules.

World Cup rules state that “after the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batter, the incoming batter must, unless time has been called, be ready to receive the ball or for the other batter to be ready to receive the next ball within two minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, timed out.”

After much deliberation and no withdrawal of the appeal, Mathews was forced to walk off the field having not faced a ball. The former Sri Lanka captain remonstrated with the umpires before doing so, shaking his head in dismay and throwing his helmet as soon as he crossed the boundary.