Cricket: Nepal Becomes Third Country to Execute Rare ‘Timed Out’ Dismissal Contrary to Spirit of the Game
Image source, CAN
A rare cricketing incident occurred during the ACC Women’s Premier Cup match on Thursday against Bhutan.
The Nepali women’s team successfully appealed for a ‘Timed Out’ dismissal against Bhutanese player Ritsi, marking an unusual and infrequent form of wicket in international cricket.
With this event, Ritsi became the third player in world cricket history to be dismissed ‘Timed Out’.
According to the ‘Timed Out’ rule, when a player is dismissed, the next batter must reach the crease within 90 seconds unless there is a special or technical reason.
If the incoming batter fails to appear within the prescribed time, the opposing team can appeal to the umpire for a ‘Timed Out’. Upon the appeal, the player is declared out. In this case, Ritsi was delayed in reaching the crease; the Nepali team appealed, and she was given out.
Image source, CAN
What Happened?
Nepal elected to bat first and posted a total of 113 runs.
In Bhutan’s second innings, opener Ngawan Sheden was bowled out by Kopila Kunwar on the very first ball.
The Bhutanese players did not expect to lose a wicket on their very first ball. However, the next player, Ritsi, delayed putting on her pads, which Nepal capitalized on. Had Nepal chosen not to appeal for ‘Timed Out’, the opposing player would not have been dismissed.
Nepal went on to win the match comfortably by 51 runs.
Image source, CAN
Third Incident in History
The first international cricketer to be dismissed ‘Timed Out’ was Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka.
This happened in November 2023 during an ODI World Cup match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in India. Mathews cited a technical problem with his helmet lock as the reason for the delay, but Bangladesh appealed and he was given out.
The second occurrence was in December during the Africa Cricket Association T20 Cup match between Ghana and Sierra Leone, where Ghana’s batsman Godfred Bakiwe was also dismissed ‘Timed Out’.
In this way, Nepal has established itself as the third nation to have a player dismissed by this rare method.
Although it is permitted by cricket laws, dismissing a player this way is considered against the spirit of the game.
After the incident involving Angelo Mathews, Bangladesh cricket faced considerable criticism for their appeal.
According to ICC rules, in T20 cricket, players must be on the crease within 90 seconds and within 2 minutes in One Day Internationals, or else the ‘Timed Out’ dismissal applies.