MCC -> ‘Had Angelo Mathews explained the umpires, they might have
allowed him to change the helmet’

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MCC issues statement on Angelo Mathews’ timed out dismissal: ‘Had he
explained the umpires, they might have allowed him to change the helmet’
The custodians of the laws of cricket also added, "At the Spirit of
Cricket’s core are the values of respect and fair play, yet its
application is interpretive, as issues considered to be totally
reasonable in the eyes of some may be deemed unacceptable to others."

Custodians of the laws of cricket, the Marylebone Cricket Club have
issued a statement on the Angelo Mathews timed out saga in the Sri
Lanka-Bangladesh 2023 ODI World Cup match.

On the all-rounder getting dismissed for not being ready to face the
first ball in the stipulated time of under two minutes, the MCC have
noted in their statement, “Having taken more than 90 seconds to get to
the 30-yard circle, Mathews appeared to notice that he was short on
time, jogging the final few yards to the wicket. His helmet malfunction
has since been shown to have taken place 1 minute and 54 seconds after
the previous wicket had fallen. He had not, at this stage, begun to take
guard and was not close to being in a position to receive the ball.

“When the helmet broke, it appears that Mathews did not consult with the
umpires, which a player would be expected to do when seeking new
equipment. Rather, he just signalled to the dressing room for a
replacement. Had he explained to the umpires what had happened and asked
for time to get it sorted out, they might have allowed him to change the
helmet, perhaps calling Time and thus removing any possibility of being
Timed out. Given that Time had not been called, and that at the time of
the appeal more than two minutes had elapsed, the umpires correctly gave
Mathews out. In fact, there was no other action for the umpires to take
within the Laws of Cricket.” it further added.

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World Cup section. You can also find the latest stats, like the top
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The incident which took place earlier this week at the Arun Jaitley
Stadium in Delhi has been the talk of the cricket town since. Mathews,
who would leave the field livid after being deemed out, would say
afterwards that the incident was “Absolutely disgraceful. We all play to
win but I never thought a team or player would stoop to such levels to
get a wicket.”

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, who’d appealed against Mathews off
his own bowling stood by his decision. “I have no regrets. I have been
playing against Angelo since our U-19 days. I think it was 2006 when we
played against each other for the first time. What happened was
unfortunate for him, but rules are rules,” he said.