When Sourav Ganguly nearly became the 1st batter to get timed out in international cricket – WATCH

New Delhi: Angelo Mathews became the first ever player to be dismissed timed out in international cricket as Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka by three wickets in the 2023 ODI World Cup on Monday, November 06. Mathews failed to be ready to receive the ball within two minutes after coming out to bat at no.5 during the 24th over of Sri Lanka’s innings, leading to his dismissal.

While he had arrived on the pitch just in time, his helmet strap ended up breaking while he was getting ready to face Shakib Al Hasan after Sadeera Samarawickrama’s dismissal. Mathews had to ask for a new helmet which was carried onto the field by Chamika Karunaratne. However, by the time the new helmet arrived, it was too late as Shakib had a chat with on-field umpire Marias Erasmus and appealed for a time out.

Mathews was immediately given out and handed his marching orders by the umpire. The Sri Lanka all-rounder was left stunned as he tried to have a chat with umpires and Shakib but his efforts went in vain as he was dismissed on a duck without facing even a single ball. His unfortunate dismissal via timed out saw several former cricketers, including the likes of Gautam Gambhir and Dale Steyn slam Bangladesh for not withdrawing the appeal.

 

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Also Read: ‘Time was up even before his helmet strap issue’: Umpire reveals reason behind Angelo Mathews’ timed out dismissal – WATCH

While Mathews’ time out headlined Bangladesh’s 3-wicket win against Sri Lanka, 16 years ago, former India captain Sourav Ganguly nearly became the first batter in international cricket to get timed out. The incident took place during a Test match between India and South Africa where Ganguly took not two or three but as many as six minutes to arrive on the field after Wasim Jaffer’s dismissal.

How Sourav Ganguly nearly got timed out

During the Cape Town Test between India and South Africa in 2007, Ganguly arrived on the crease late because Sachin Tendulkar was not allowed to bat at no.3. Tendulkar was supposed to walk out at no.3 when India lost the wicket of opener Jaffer. However, Sachin had spent time off the field during Day 2 of the Test match when South Africa were batting and couldn’t take the field before 10:48 AM as per the local time.

VVS Laxman was the next batter in line, however, he was in the shower at the time which forced Ganguly to walk out to bat at no.3. However, the former India captain came out only after six minutes, when the allotted time as per the ICC rules was only two minutes for a batter to be ready to receive the ball after the previous batter’s dismissal.

Also Read: ‘Disgraceful, completely shocked’: Angelo Mathews blasts Shakib for ‘timed out’ dismissal

Despite being late on the field, Ganguly was not timed out as South Africa captain Graeme Smith decided against appealing. Smith had a chat with the on-field umpires, who informed him about the situation and the former South Africa skipper decided against appealing for Ganguly’s dismissal, upholding the spirit of the game.

On January 5, 2007, Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly nearly made history by being the first player to be declared ‘timed out’ in international cricket. He took six minutes to reach the batting crease. However, Graeme Smith, the opposing team’s captain, chose not to enforce this… pic.twitter.com/JMhhs5Yaa5

— Anjula Hettige (@AnjulaHettige) November 6, 2023

A batter can be deemed timed out only if the opposition captain decides to appeal for his dismissal. The captains have the choice to not register an appeal on the grounds that there is a valid reason for the delay. In Mathews’ case on Monday, Shakib decided against withdrawing his appeal which lead to him getting out while Ganguly survived because Smith decided not to appeal.