Angelo Mathews had a break: How the Sri Lankan batsman made international history at the Cricket World Cup

Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews became the first batsman to be given a break in international cricket during the World Cup group stage match against Bangladesh in Delhi on Monday.

Since the law was introduced, there have only been six other cases of a batsman being timed out in top-level cricket.

So what happened, what do the laws say and what was the reaction?

Scroll to the end to vote and express your opinion.

What happened?

• Mathews goes to the crease after Sadeera Samarawickrama is dismissed on the second ball of the 25th over.
• The 36-year-old stands in the crease of his eyelids and is about to pay attention when he readjusts his helmet. The chin strap that goes around his jaw breaks when he tries to tighten it.
• Mathews notices it immediately as it snaps in his hand, demanding a new helmet.
• He speaks to Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, shows him the damage to his helmet and asks for time so a replacement can be brought out.
• Mathews is then seen speaking to referees Richard Illingworth and Marais Erasmus.
• Erasmus then speaks to Shakib, possibly to ask if he is requesting a dismissal.
• Mathews then speaks to Shakib and the Bangladesh team huddles together again before Erasmus asks the Sri Lankan to leave the field.
• After another exchange with Shakib, Mathews finally accepts his fate and stalks off, throwing his broken helmet into the pitchside drinks crates as he walks away.
• He throws more equipment as he goes up the stairs to the dressing room, from where Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis comes down and chats animatedly with fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock and Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha.
• Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood later speaks to Holdstock.
• During the innings change, Holdstock said, “The batsman was not ready within those two minutes, even before the strap became a problem for him,” suggesting that the helmet delay was not the reason for his uncharacteristic dismissal.

What is the law?

To make matters more confusing, the International Cricket Council (ICC) applies a different time frame than the rules of the game set by the MCC.

The rules apply to all cricket, unless special playing conditions apply to specific tournaments, leagues or games.

Rule 40.1.1 refers to a batsman overtime and states: “After the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batsman, the arriving batsman, unless the time has expired, shall be ready to receive the ball or for the other.” The batsman must be ready to receive the next ball within three minutes of being out or out. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out and timed out.”

However, the ICC’s playing conditions for this World Cup are: “After the fall of a wicket or the dismissal of a batsman, unless time has expired, the arriving batsman must be ready to receive the ball or the other batsman ready to receive the next one.” Receiving the ball within two minutes of being kicked out or eliminated. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out and timed out.”

Essentially, Mathews only had two minutes instead of three to prepare for his first ball.

` Sport rewatched the incident frame by frame, and from the moment the ball landed in the fielder’s hands on the previous wicket to the moment Mathews touched the tape on his helmet, it took Mathews one minute and 54 seconds It is unlikely that he would have been able to receive the ball in time before two minutes had passed. Other batters in front of him were ready to fight within 100 seconds.

Samarawickrama was sent off at 10:19:05 GMT and Mathews made his way off the field at 10:25:30, more than five minutes after the previous sending off.

Mathews could have fought without a helmet – unlike in England and Wales, they are not required in ICC-supervised matches – but decided against it.

What did Mathews say?

Mathews chose to hold the post-match press conference for Sri Lanka, calling it “a disgrace of Shakib and Bangladesh if they want to play cricket like that”.

“I hadn’t done anything wrong. I had two minutes to get to the crease and get ready, which I did, and then it was an equipment failure,” Mathews said.

“I don’t know where common sense went. To get to this level, there’s something very wrong.”

“The referees told our coaches that they didn’t see my helmet broken. I just asked for my helmet there. It was just common sense – I’m not talking about ‘Mankading’.” [running out a batter at the non-striker’s end] or obstruct the field.

“You have to respect the game itself. We are all ambassadors of this beautiful game, including the referees. If you don’t respect or use common sense, what more could you want?”

Sri Lanka captain Mendis described the incident as “disappointing” in his post-match interview through an interpreter.

What did Shakib say?

Bangladesh captain Shakib said there would be “debates” over the dismissal.

“One of our fielders came to me and said if you appeal now he will be thrown out,” Shakib explained. “I appealed and the referee asked me if I was serious, whether I would take it back or not. I said no. If it’s in the rules then it’s out, and that’s exactly what happened.”

“It’s in the laws. I don’t know if it’s right or wrong. But I feel like I was in a war so I had to make a decision to make sure my team won, so all I had to do was do it.

“Right or wrong, there will be debates. But if it’s within the rules, I don’t mind taking that risk.”

“I thought it [the dismissal] helped in some ways. It gave me more fight. I won’t deny that.

In his press conference he added: “I know him [Mathews] since 2006 and we have played a lot of cricket against each other so we know each other well.

“He came and asked me if I would withdraw the appeal. I said I understood your situation, it was unfortunate, but I didn’t want to.”

“I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen to me.”

How did the experts react?

The reaction from experts was mixed.

Former Irish wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien, from the ` Test Match Special team, said: “I think he was ready to face the ball. He was on the field and his equipment failed him. I think there was a mistake.”

Former Bangladesh batsman Athar Ali Khan, who was part of the TV coverage, said: “I don’t like what I see, it’s not good for the game. It goes against the spirit of the game, that’s how I feel about it.

“If something goes wrong with the helmet, you should have a few extra minutes to fix the problem.”

“It’s the first time we’ve seen this in cricket, they’re not good scenes I have to say. I definitely would have called him back.”

Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja also spoke on TV and said the umpires handled the situation well.

“To some extent, it is the duty of cricketers to learn the rules and understand the spirit of the rules,” Raja said.

“Most of us don’t do that, but the referees had the situation under control. It was a difficult decision.”

“You have the law back here and you have a better understanding of what you want to do and what the law is.”

Between innings, fourth umpire Holdstock said: “The TV umpire will monitor the two minutes and will then relay the message to the standing umpire. In this case, the batsman was not ready within those two minutes, even before the strap became an issue.” him. The two minutes had already passed.

“According to the playing conditions, the field captain requested/initiated the standing referee that he wanted to request a time-out.

“As a batsman you have to make sure all your equipment is there. You have to be ready to receive the ball in two minutes and not just be on your guard.”

When were the other cases?

This is the seventh application of the law, but the first in international cricket and limited-overs cricket, as all previous occasions have been in domestic first-class cricket.

WHO	Game	When	Why
Andrew Jordaan	Eastern Province versus Transvaal in Port Elizabeth	1987-88	Didn’t travel overnight but was delayed in getting to shore due to flooding
Hemulal Yadav	Tripura vs Orissa in Cuttack	1997-98	I spoke to the team manager and didn’t try to reach the goal area
Vasbert Drakes	Border against Free State in East London	2002	Still flying from the West Indies
AJ Harris	Nottinghamshire v Durham UCCE in Nottingham	2003	Had a groin injury and couldn’t move quickly
Ryan Austin	Combined Campuses and Colleges v Windward Islands in Kingstown, St Vincent	2013-14	No obvious reason
Charles likes this	Matabeleland Tuskers vs Mountaineers in Bulawayo	2017-18	Unknown

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