Angelo Mathews Gives Proof That The 4th Umpire’s Claim Over Timed-Out Was Wrong

The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 will be memorable for many things, such as few upsets, Virat Kohli’s brilliant tons with which he has equaled the record of the legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and of course few controversies. Whenever there will be a discussion of controversies in the tournament, people will certainly talk about the match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in which the Sri Lankan batter Angelo Mathews was given timed-out.

This was the first instance in the history of cricket when a batter was given timed-out and majority of the former cricketers were also disappointed with the timed-out episode.

Angelo Mathews came out to bat after Sadeera Samarawickrama got out but when he came on the crease, his helmet’s strap got broken and he made a gesture towards the dressing room asking for a replacement. As Angelo Mathews was not able to take a stance in the required time period which is 2 minutes, he was given timed-out by the umpires after the Bangladeshi skipper Shakib Al Hasan made an appeal for timed-out.

Angelo Mathews had a chat with Shakib Al Hasan but he refused to withdraw the appeal and the Sri Lankan cricketer lambasted the Bangladeshi skipper and the team for stooping so low for a wicket and called their act disgraceful.

Angelo Mathews also argued that there were still 5 seconds left in the required time period getting over but the umpires didn’t listen to him. The fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock stated during the innings break that the new batter should be ready to face the delivery within 2 minutes but Angelo Mathews was not ready to face the ball within 2 minutes and the strap issue came up afterwards.

Adrian also said that certain protocols are followed by the TV umpire in regard to monitoring the two minutes after the wicket falls and he sends message to the on-field umpires. Angelo Mathews tried to prove that there were still 5 seconds left in the required time period by posting the screenshots of footage after Sadeera Samarawickrama got out.

He wrote in the first tweet, “4^th umpire is wrong here! Video evidence shows I still had 5 more seconds even after the helmet gave away! Can the 4^th umpire rectify this please? I mean safety is paramount as I just couldn’t face the bowler without a helmet”.

With the screenshots, he wrote, “Proof! From the time catch was taken and the time helmet strap coming off”.

Whom do you support in this case? Do let us know.