Angelo Mathews has labelled Shakib Al Hasan “disgraceful” for appealing to have him ‘Timed Out’ before the start of his innings, making Mathews the first player in international cricket to be dismissed that way.
The incident took place when Sri Lanka were batting first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Matthews came to bat after the wicket of Sadheera Samarawickrama, but the chin strap of his helmet snapped as he prepared to attack. Instead of fending off Shakib’s first ball before changing helmets, Matthews immediately signaled for a new ball. Shakib asked Matthews for a timeout, which the referee granted.
Fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock said Matthews had exceeded the two-minute mark set out in the ICC terms of play as the maximum time a batsman can reach the crease before his helmet breaks, but Sri Lanka the former captain claimed. In the post-match press conference, he stated that there was still time left before the belt expired.
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” he said. “I had two minutes to go to the goal area and prepare, so I did that. And there was an equipment failure. And this is clearly an embarrassment for Shakib and Bangladesh, so where does common sense go? I don’t know if they wanted to play cricket like that, stoop to this level, something is fundamentally wrong. If I’m late [to the finish area], if I have more than two minutes to get to the finish area, and the law says I have to be ready [within two minutes, and I get ready after two minutes]. , 45 seconds or 50 seconds… There was still time, after the helmet broke, there were only 5 seconds left. And the referees also told the coaches that they didn’t realize my helmet was broken. I mean, I just asked for a helmet.
“I mean, it was just common sense. I’m not talking about mancading or blocking the field here. This is just common sense and brings the game into disrepute. It’s absolutely disgraceful.”
Matthews added that, contrary to Holdstock’s claims in the interview, the Sri Lankan team would issue a further notice indicating that he was at the goal line two minutes before time limit when his helmet broke.
“To this day, I have the utmost respect for him and the Bangladesh team,” Matthews said. “Of course you play to win, and as long as it’s within the rules, it’s fine. But in today’s incident, the rules say I arrived within two minutes. There’s video evidence. We will issue a statement later. There is video evidence and footage and everything is being investigated. I don’t just come here and say something. I speak with proof.
“So we have video evidence that shows there were five seconds left between the time he was caught and the time his helmet broke and he went into the crease. So you’re talking about player safety. Being alert without a helmet. Can you tell me if is correct? It’s just common sense.
“So I think the referees had a bigger job back then, because they could have at least checked again.” So we’re talking about player safety. and the spinner’s wicketkeeper, who is not allowed to remain without a helmet. So how can you stay alert without a helmet? This is a complete device failure. ”
“Where is the common sense?” he continued. “In my 15-year career, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team drop to such a level. Unfortunately it happened against Bangladesh. I don’t think I would do that.”
Matthews criticized the decision itself, even though there is no legal provision for batters with equipment problems. “In my opinion, yes (that’s wrong),” he said. “Because if I didn’t do anything wrong, who’s to blame?”
“Well, as I said earlier, this is a World Cup match and we are talking about what happens if it happens in the last over with three or four runs left for the last wicket. It’s a necessary formality.’ So it’s just common sense.
“I didn’t mean to waste time. I wasn’t trying to take advantage of anything. It was just a device failure. And it happened for the first time in my career. And I was really shocked. I am receiving it.
“I’m not saying that if we had fought today we would have won the game. It was a moment, and it could have gone either way. I mean, we could have scored 54, 60 more points. you never know. But that was just disappointing. ”
He also ridiculed Holdstock’s claim that it was Matthews’ fault for the helmet failure. “You all heard that, right?” he said. “I think that’s pretty ridiculous. It’s our responsibility, yes. If I bat against a fast bowler without wearing a helmet, of course it’s my responsibility. Do you really think I know something is down, something is off? I don’t understand the logic behind his statement. ”
Matthews also suggested that the officer retract his claim that his helmet broke after exceeding the two-minute time limit. “If you ask me a question now, he’ll give you a different answer because I have the evidence, the video evidence. Like I said, I’m not just going to say what I want to say. I’m going to give you the video evidence. I have it, so if anyone wants to object, I encourage them to do so.”
Despite his dismissal, Matthews managed to take revenge on Shakib while bowling. After dropping him into the attack in the first over, Matthews came back and caught him midway through the match, scoring a 65-ball 82. Despite this, Bangladesh achieved his target of 280 with 53 balls and 3 wickets to spare.
To bet on the World Cup with our Match Centre Partners bet365 head here.
