In one of the most explosive press conferences of his career, Angelo Mathews didn’t hold back in expressing his dismay at the actions of opposition captain Shakib Al Hasan and the Bangladesh team, which he deemed “obviously disgraceful.”
With 15 years of international cricket experience, Mathews claimed he had “never seen a team or player stoop so low.”
The controversy arose when Shakib appealed for a “timed out” dismissal against Mathews, ultimately leading to Mathews being declared out without facing a ball. Mathews had reached the batting crease and was in the process of preparing to face Shakib when the strap of his helmet broke while he was attempting to secure it.
Mathews then requested a replacement helmet, but it took some time to arrive. As a result, he was given out following Bangladesh’s appeal, approximately three minutes and 20 seconds after Sadeera Samarawickrama had been dismissed.
The ICC’s playing conditions stipulate that a new batter must be “ready to receive the ball” within two minutes of a dismissal. The helmet strap broke around one minute and 55 seconds after Samarawickrama’s dismissal, just as Mathews was finalizing his preparations to face Shakib, although he had not yet taken his guard.
Mathews strongly criticized Shakib and the Bangladesh team, describing their actions as “disgraceful” and suggesting that if they resort to such tactics to take wickets, there’s a significant issue at hand.
“It was obviously disgraceful from Shakib and Bangladesh, they want to take wickets like that and stoop down to that level, there’s something wrong, drastically,” said the Sri Lankan cricketer.
“It’s very disappointing way that Bangladesh played. If it was mankading or obstructing the field, there’s no issue,” he added.
He expressed disappointment in Bangladesh’s approach, particularly because his helmet broke while he was already at the crease. He pointed out that the umpires were aware of this and that he still had five seconds left within the two-minute timeframe. Mathews questioned the lack of common sense in the decision and concluded by stating that, in his 15-year cricketing career, he had never witnessed a team or player stoop so low.
