During the ongoing ODI World Cup match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in New Delhi on Monday, veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews became the first cricketer to be ‘timed out’ in an international match.
Of the many forms of dismissals in cricket, the rarest of the lot is ‘timed out’.
What is ‘timed out’ dismissal
As per MCC, a batter is deemed timed out under the following circumstances…
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 three minutes of the dismissal or retirement.
The laws also add that the bowler does not get the credit for the wicket.
However, as per the ICC World Cup 2023 playing conditions, the time limit for the batter is just two minutes.
As per the World Cup playing conditions, 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.
Instances of ‘timed out’ dismissals
As per the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians, there have been six instances of ‘timed out’ in first-class cricket.
However, there have been no instances recorded in List A or Twenty20 cricket until Mathews’ ‘timed out’ dismissal.
When Ganguly escaped ‘timed out’
Former India captain and explosive southpaw Sourav Ganguly escaped being ‘timed out’ when he had to rush onto the pitch after the fall of a wicket during a South Africa Test at Cape Town in 2007.
India had lost a wicket and with next batsman Sachin Tendulkar not allowed to take the field owing the time he had spent off the pitch, and VVS Laxman taking a shower, the onus to come out fell on Ganguly, who was still in his tracksuit.
The timed-out rule in Tests was three minutes. However, Proteas captain Graeme Smith did not appeal. They waited patiently for Ganguly’s arrival in the middle despite exceeding the time limit. Thus Ganguly had a narrow escape from being ‘timed out’ as the first international cricketer.