Sri Lankan cricketer Angelo Mathews has taken to social media to demand “justice” from the Apex Cricket Council over the Times Out issue. Sharing various proofs of his innocence, Mathews termed Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan a cheat. The situation doesn’t seem to have ended soon.
In the wake of a contentious ‘timed out’ dismissal during the World Cup, Mathews expressed his sentiments in a post-match press conference. After the defeat that effectively eliminated Sri Lanka, Mathews termed Shakib’s appeal disgraceful. The incident revolved around Mathews’ failure to comply with the World Cup rule, which dictates that a new batter must be ready to face a delivery within two minutes of a wicket falling.
However, Mathews backed his position with a time-stamped video, urging the cricket community to assess the situation. Sharing the video, Matthews said, “Video evidence shows I still had five more seconds even after the helmet gave away! Can the fourth umpire rectify this? I mean, safety is paramount, and I just couldn’t face the bowler without a helmet. This is clear cheating; I want justice.”
Here is the video:
I rest my case! Here you go you decide ?? pic.twitter.com/AUT0FGffqV
— Angelo Mathews (@Angelo69Mathews) November 7, 2023
Fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock gives a different perspective
Meanwhile, after the game, the fourth umpire, Adrian Holdstock, gave a completely different perspective on the issue. According to Holdstock, Angelo Mathews took more than two minutes to take his guard before the strap issue itself. As he failed to comply with the time rules he was given out by on-field umpires, However, a broadcaster video showcased that Mathews had five more seconds before his strap broke.
Meanwhile, as the debate over the issue raged, many former India cricketers, including Gautam Gambhir and Mohammad Kaif, voiced their discontent over it. Kaif said, “Shakib should believe in winning, but not in winning at all costs. That was shameful.” On the other hand, former Pakistani pacer Waqar Younis also slammed Shakib and said, “That wasn’t good for the spirit of the game.”
