The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the custodian of the rules governing the game, provided their views on Angelo Mathews' infamous dismissal during Sri Lanka's World Cup 2023 game against Bangladesh on November 6. The MCC backed umpires and said that they took a right call on Mathews' timed out dismissal on Saturday.
A big controversy hit the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 when Mathews became the first victim of timed out dismissal in international cricket. The veteran Sri Lankan all-rounder suffered a helmet malfunction while getting ready to face the first delivery.
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan appealed for timed out as Mathews exceeded a given two-minute window to get ready. Mathews had engaged in a heated exchange with on-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Richard Illingworth but had to leave the field without playing a single ball.
Mathews and Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis avoided shaking hands with Bangladesh players as a defeat ended their hopes of reaching the World Cup semifinal. Mathews also criticised umpires and took a dig at Shakib in a post-match press conference and explained his innocence in the case.
However, the MCC clarified that Mathews should have informed umpires about the helmet malfunction before seeking the new equipment directly.
"When the helmet broke, it appears that Mathews did not consult with the umpires, which a player would be expected to do when seeking new equipment. Rather, he just signalled to the dressing room for a replacement," the MCC said in a statement. "Had he explained to the umpires what had happened and asked for time to get it sorted out, they might have allowed him to change the helmet, perhaps calling Time and thus removing any possibility of being Timed out."
MCC added that the umpires correctly called Mathews out as he asked for a new helmet without reaching the official first.
"Given that Time had not been called, and that at the time of the appeal more than two minutes had elapsed, the umpires correctly gave Mathews out. In fact, there was no other action for the umpires to take within the Laws of Cricket," the MCC statement added.
