In Saturday’s National T20 Cup encounter, Pakistan batter Sohaib Maqsood was declared timed out. The game between Multan Region as well as Azad Jammu & Kashmir saw this incident took place.
The event happened after Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka became the first batsman to be timed out. The cricket world was split by Mathews’ dismissal; some spoke of preserving the spirit of the game, while others applauded the Bangladesh skipper, Shakib Al Hasan, for continuing to pursue the appeal despite umpire Marais Erasmus’s repeated questions.
In an effort to expedite play, the apex cricket council is testing the use of a stop clock in between overs during white-ball international matches to prevent bowling sides from wasting time. During Sri Lanka’s World Cup group match versus Bangladesh in Delhi, Angelo Mathews’ helmet malfunctioned. This had made him the first player in international cricket history to be timed out.
When Mathews went onto the pitch to take on Shakib Al Hasan, he was already there and making his last preparations. He was tightening the strap on his helmet when it snapped. When he called, Chamika Karunaratne ran out to get him a replacement helmet.
After appearing to start a conversation with Marais Erasmus, Shakib told Mathews that he had been timed out. This is because he was not prepared to face his first ball in the two minutes. This is the time allotted by the playing regulations issued by the cricket council.
What does the rule book state?
The umpires were following the rulebook and according to that it was evident that Angelo was not on time. Mathews was not prepared for receiving the ball inside the allotted two minutes as per the rules.
The rule states that, “40.1 Out Timed out 40.1.1 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 two minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, Timed Out.”
