Cricket is a funny game and so are its wicket or dismissal patterns. Currently, the game has 11 ways to get a batter out. Among those 11 types of out, one very rare & uncommon way is “Timed Out”. Here Sportsnile discusses “Timed Out Wicket in Cricket History” with the Rule, Meaning, Past Events, and more. Top 10 Most Beautiful Female Cricketers 2023 (Hottest Women).
Timed Out in Cricket
Timed Out is one of the 11 ways for a batsman to be declared out. It’s obviously the most uncommon and rare type for a batter to get out.
Timed Out Rule in Cricket
What is the Timed Out Law in Cricket? Well, according to MCC Rules 40.1, when a batter gets out, the next batter has to be ready to face the next ball within 2-3 minutes! Generally, the time period is 3 minutes. However, for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, ICC set the time to 2 minutes or 120 seconds for the new batter to be fully ready to face the very next ball.
“If the new batsman or his partner isn’t ready to face the ball within 2/3 minutes after the fall of a wicket, then the next batter will be declared out.” It is the Timed Out Law in Cricket.
Has anyone been timed out in cricket?
Yes, there has been evidence of timed-out batters in the history of the game. However, all of those were in the domestic first-class crickets until November 2023.
How many batsmen have been timed out?
So far, 6 batsmen have fallen to timed out wicket in cricket history. The first 5 were in the first-class crickets. But the 6th one has been on the biggest stage of the game. The 6th instance of a batter to be timed out happened not only in international cricket but also at the ICC Cricket World Cup Main Stage.
Has any batsman been Timed Out?
Angelo Mathews became the first-ever batsman to be timed out in an International Game. It is also the very first instance in the limited format of cricket. Prior to this, it never happened in the ODIs (List A) or T20s. So, the first-ever timed out wicket in cricket history at the international arena belongs to Angelo Mathews against Bangladesh.
Timed Out Mathews
Mathews has been the very first batsman to be out in this abnormal fashion in international cricket. It was the match number 38th of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. The game featured Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka in a Round-Robin game. During the 25th over of the first innings, Shakib Al Hasan came into the attack. He got Sadeera Samarawickrama out on the 2nd ball of the over.
The next batsman Angelo Mathews came to the crease. But he came in a very swaggy fashion and slowly. He took almost 2 minutes to reach the crease and then before facing the first ball he found his helmet’s strap broken. He didn’t ask Shakib or the Umpire for permitting him to change the helmet and directly called for a new helmet. When the substitute fielder ran in with the new helmet, it was already 2 minutes crossed since Samarawickrama left!
One of the Bangladeshi fielders did ask Shakib to appeal for the Timed Out to the umpire. Having Shakib already appealed the umpires Marais Erasmus and Richard Illingworth had a discussion and they gave Mathews Out. Mathews once again went to Shakib to withdraw the appeal. But the BD captain within his rights told that it’s now up to the umpires and he will go by the rules.
Finally, Mathews had to leave the ground without facing a ball and 3rd Umpire Adrian Holdstock revealed later that Mathews consumed more than 2 minutes even before noticing his broken strap.
Timed Out Mathews Video
Check out the video of Angelo Mathews getting Timed out against Bangladesh.
Timed Out Wicket in Cricket
As we’ve already mentioned, there are 6 instances of Timed Out in history. Here Sportsnile will reveal all the instances.
List of Timed Out Wicket in Cricket History
| Player Name | Match | Reason for Given Timed Out |
| Andrew Jordaan | Eastern Province v Transvaal at Port Elizabeth in 1987-88 | Couldn’t reach the ground in time due to bad road condition |
| Hemulal Yadav | Tripura v Orissa at Cuttack in 1997 | He was deep in conversation with his team manager on the edge of the boundary while a drinks break was being issued & was given out |
| Vasbert Drakes | Border v Free State at East London in 2002 | Couldn’t reach the ground in time as he was still on a flight from Colombo to South Africa |
| AJ Harris | Nottinghamshire v Durham UCCE at Nottingham in 2003 | Innings collapsed and he was not ready with clothes and equipment |
| Ryan Austin | Combined Campuses and Colleges vs Windward Islands at Kingstown, St. Vincent in 2013-14 | Failed to make it to the crease in time and was given out |
| Angelo Mathews | Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh at Delhi in ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 | Failed to face his first ball within 2 minutes due to a slow coming to the crease and then found his straps broken and called for a new helmet without facing the first ball |
