Fans recall Graeme Smith’s sportsmanship amid Angelo Mathews “timed-out” saga

Fans were reminded of former South Africa captain Graeme Smith amid the controversial “timed-out” dismissal of veteran Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews in their tense ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 fixture against Bangladesh at New Delhi.

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In the 25th over of Sri Lanka innings, Angelo Mathews came into bat after Sadeera Samarawickrama’s dismissal in the 25th over but was unable to secure his helmet strap tightly enough, an action which delayed the resumption of play.

As a result, Shakib Al Hasan appealed for the wicket as Angelo Mathews had not taken guard within the two-minute limit.

On-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Richard Illingworth talked to both teams before the decision was upheld. Angelo Mathews also tried to convince Shakib Al Hasan but his request to withdraw the appeal was turned down by the latter.

The 36-year-old Angelo Mathews reluctantly trudged off with most spectators appearing bemused by the decision.

 

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He threw his helmet in disgust after reaching the team dugout.

 

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The incident led many cricket fans and cricket legends to believe Bangladesh was not playing within the spirit of the game.

Related – ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: ‘It’s disgraceful from Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan’

Former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn and India batter Gautam Gambhir voiced their displeasure with their post on the social media application X, formerly Twitter.

Well, that wasn’t cool ⏰

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) November 6, 2023

Well, that wasn’t cool ⏰

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) November 6, 2023

Angelo Mathews’ timed-out dismissal led to many heated moments in the match. Sadeera Samarawickrama had a verbal spat with Najmul Hossain Shanto who had urged Shakib Al Hasan to appeal for the the all-rounder’s dismissal.

Then, Angelo Mathews avenged his dismissal by giving Shakib Al Hasan a fiery sendoff after dismissing him of his bowling.

After the match, Sri Lanka players refused to shake hands with their Bangladesh counterparts.

Amid the controversy, several fans recalled an incident where then South Africa all-format captain Graeme Smith upheld the “spirit of the game by not appealing for the “timed-out” dismissal in the third test against India in 2007.

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

South Africa dismissed Wasim Jaffer in the third over of the innings and Sachin Tendulkar was to be the next player to take guard. The rules prevented the legendary cricketer was prevented to doing so as he had taken time off from the field.

It led to India making changes to its batting lineup and V.V.S Laxman had to bat next. However, Sourav Ganguly came to bat as the former was taking a shower.

The left-handed batter quickly wore his pads but it took more than six minutes to take guard.

The on-field umpires Asad Rauf and Daryl Harper were informed about the reason behind the delay and the South Africa captain Graeme Smith showed maturity and didn’t appeal for the “timed-out” dismissal.