Veteran Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews expressed his anger on Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan and their side calling their behaviour on the field as disgraceful. The Bangla Tigers scripted history by dismissing the experienced Mathews in a “Timed Out” manner, which once again sparked a wide range of controversy about the spirit of cricket.
It seems that while Angelo was getting ready for his first delivery, an equipment fault resulted in the breakage of his helmet strap. It took longer than the two minutes allowed to face the following ball. Bangladesh’s captain, Shakib Al Hasan, spearheaded the team’s appeal to the umpires. The appeal was upheld by umpires Richard Illingworth and Marais Erasmus, resulting in Mathews’ dismissal from the match.
Speaking on the Post-match press conference, Angelo Mathews lambasted Shakib Al Hasan and Co. for appealing for a wicket in that manner, lowering themselves to a new low, and said that he got to the crease within two minutes and wasn’t thrilled with the umpire’s judgment about the wickets.
“It was obviously disgraceful from Shakib and Bangladesh, If they want to take wickets like that and stoop down to that level, there’s something wrong, drastically”.
“It’s a very disappointing way that Bangladesh played. If it was mankading or obstructing the field, there’s no issue. Within two minutes I was at the crease, and it was when I was at the crease that my helmet broke. The umpires saw this. I still had five seconds left. After I showed my helmet, the umpires said [Bangladesh] had appealed. So I asked where common sense was because my two minutes hadn’t passed,” Angelo Matthews said.
The Sri Lankan Veteran became the first batter in the history of international cricket to be “timed out”. Following his unexpected dismissal, there was a lot of discussion among the cricket experts and fans. Many thought that it went against the spirit of the game, even if everything happened as per the rules, and they criticized Shakib for not withdrawing the appeal.
I’ve Never Seen A Team Going Down To That Level – Angelo Mathews
Angelo Mathews said that he had more respect for Shakib Al Hasan and the Bangladesh team before the game and feels that in his 15-year cricketing career, he had never seen a team going to this level to get the victory. He also felt that no other international team would have taken such drastic measures, emphasizing the significance of wearing a helmet during a match.
“Up to today, I had the utmost respect for him and the Bangladesh team. I think in my 15 years of career, I’ve never seen a team going down to that level, Yes, I think, unfortunately, it happened against Bangladesh,” Angelo Mathews said.
“I don’t think any other team would do that because it was black and white. It was equipment, the helmet coming off and it was a safety issue as well, because we know that without a helmet, I cannot face a bowler. And my personal opinion is, if it was any other team, they wouldn’t have done it,” Angelo Mathews concluded.
Angelo Mathews was enraged by the way the dismissal was handled in the game. He even requested Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan to withdraw his plea a few times, but the captain of Bangladesh refused to back down and stuck to his appeal in the match.