World Cup 2023: Angelo Mathews becomes first player to be 'timed out' in international cricket - WATCH

In what comes as an incident that is set to reignite the 'spirit of the cricket' debate, Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews became the first player in the 146-year history of international cricket to be 'timed out' after he took more than the stipulated time to arrive at the crease during the World Cup match against Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Monday (Nov 6).

After Sadeera Samarawickrama was caught out in the 25th over on the bowling of Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, Angelo Mathews walked out to bat. However, prior to taking his guard at the popping crease, Mathews felt uncomfortable in his helmet and signalled to the dugout for a replacement. Replays showed that the strap of Mathews' helmet had come undone and he wanted a change.

However, before the replacement helmet could arrive, Shakib turned to umpires Marais Erasmus and Richard Illingworth and complained about the situation. According to the letter of the law, the umpires considered Shakib's complaint as an appeal and after a lot of argument, ordered Matthews to return to the pavilion.

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A disgruntled Mathews returned to the dugout, threw his helmet in disgust and held a brief chat with head coach Chris Silverwood.

What does the rule say?

According to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) rule book, a timed-out dismissal is a legitimate mode of dismissal:

"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 3 minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, Timed out."

While the MCC rule states that the batter has three minutes to arrive at the crease after the previous dismissal, the World Cup tournament rule stipulates two minutes.The playing conditions supersede the laws.

“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 2 minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, Timed out,” reads the tournament playing conditions.

The dismissal divided the cricketing world yet again as some fans stood in Mathews' defence while others lauded the Bangladesh captain for displaying presence of mind.

"Can't really sympathise with Mathews here, first of all you get into the ground with faulty gear, don't bother to ensure about everything being right before entering the field, and then when spinner is bowling you don't wait for the over to get completed to change the helmet," said one user.

Meanwhile, another added: "You got to feel for Angelo Mathews here.Bangladesh played dirty."

Before Mathews' dismissal, batters hadbeen timed out only six times, albeit in first-class cricket only.

(With inputs from agencies)