“It was obviously disgraceful from Shakib and Bangladesh,” Mathews says of the incident
Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Nov-20236:20
‘Absolutely disgraceful’ – Mathews on his timed out dismissal
In almost certainly the most explosive press conferences of his career, Angelo Mathews called the actions of opposition captain Shakib Al Hasan and the Bangladesh team “obviously disgraceful”. He said he’d “never seen a team or player stoop so low” in his 15 years of playing international cricket.It was “unfortunate” his helmet strap broke in a match against Bangladesh because he doesn’t think “any other team would do that”, he added.This was all in response to Shakib appealing for a “timed out” dismissal against Mathews, and winning that decision, which meant Mathews was out without facing a ball. Mathews had got to the batting crease and was preparing to face the bowling of Shakib when the strap of his helmet broke as he attempted to tighten it. Mathews then called for a replacement helmet, but as this took some time to arrive, he was given out following Bangladesh’s appeal, roughly three minutes and 20 seconds after Sadeera Samarawickrama had been dismissed.Related
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The ICC’s playing conditions stipulate that the new batter must be “ready to receive the ball” within two minutes of a dismissal. The helmet strap broke about one minute and 55 seconds after Samarawickrama’s catch was completed, just as Mathews was going through his final preparations to face Shakib – though he hadn’t taken his guard yet.”It was obviously disgraceful from Shakib and Bangladesh,” Mathews said. “If they want to take wickets like that and stoop down to that level, there’s something wrong, drastically.”It’s very disappointing way that Bangladesh played. If it was mankading or obstructing the field, there’s no issue. Within two minutes I was at the crease, and it was when I was at the crease that my helmet broke. The umpires saw this. I still had five seconds left. After I showed my helmet, the umpires said [Bangladesh] had appealed. So I asked where common sense was because my two minutes hadn’t passed.
4th umpire is wrong here! Video evidence shows I still had 5 more seconds even after the helmet gave away! Can the 4th umpire rectify this please? I mean safety is paramount as I just couldn’t face the bowler without a helmet
— Angelo Mathews (@Angelo69Mathews) November 6, 2023