Timed Out: Cricket's Rarest Dismissal Mode Explained
The 'timed out' dismissal — where a new batsman takes too long to arrive at the crease — is the rarest mode of dismissal in cricket, but its recent high-profile application has brought it into sharp focus.
What Is a Timed Out Dismissal?
Under Law 40 of the MCC Laws of Cricket, a new batsman must be ready to receive the next delivery — with their bat touching the ground in the crease — within 3 minutes of the previous wicket falling (in international cricket; the time limit may vary in amateur cricket). If the incoming batsman fails to meet this requirement and the fielding team makes an appeal to the umpire, the incoming batsman is given out 'Timed Out' without any ball being bowled. The dismissal mode exists to prevent time-wasting by the batting side — a team that deliberately delays the arrival of the next batsman to allow a player to recover, to wait for bad light, or to waste time when chasing a target can be penalised through this law.
The 2023 ODI World Cup: Timed Out in International Cricket
The dismissal gained unprecedented global attention on November 2, 2023, when Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews was given out 'Timed Out' in an ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh. Mathews arrived at the crease but could not take his guard within the 3-minute limit because the chin strap on his helmet was broken. Sri Lanka claimed the equipment failure should have suspended the clock; Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan appealed after the time limit elapsed. The umpires, following the Laws strictly, gave Mathews out. The decision was followed by significant controversy — Mathews was visibly upset, Sri Lanka disputed the spirit-of-cricket implications of the appeal, and cricket's global conversation turned to whether the letter of the law and the spirit of the game had been properly balanced.
Spirit of Cricket vs. Letter of the Law
The timed-out dismissal has always existed in a grey area between the letter of the law and cricket's spirit. In domestic cricket, umpires have occasionally reminded incoming batsmen to hurry up without formally giving them out — the law exists as a backstop against deliberate time-wasting rather than as a routine application. The fielding team must actively appeal for the dismissal; the umpires don't automatically give the batsman out when the clock expires. In international cricket before 2023, timed-out had never been applied in a World Cup or any major ICC event. The Mathews incident triggered debate about whether cricket's laws should be more prescriptive about when this dismissal mode is appropriate versus when it undermines the spirit of fair play.
Frequently asked questions
Has anyone else been given out 'timed out' in international cricket before Mathews?
The ICC's formal records show that Mathews's dismissal in 2023 was the first timed-out dismissal in men's ODI history. In domestic first-class cricket, timed-out dismissals are extremely rare but have occurred — typically when a batting side is disorganised between wickets or when a player is injured in the dressing room and needs additional time. In women's international cricket, there have been no timed-out dismissals in the ICC's formal records. The rarity of the dismissal mode means most cricket fans, players, and even experienced umpires have never witnessed one in practice — Mathews's dismissal was the first time many cricket followers had ever heard the law's precise requirements explained.
Can the captain withdraw the timed-out appeal?
Once an appeal for timed out has been made to the umpire and the umpire has given the batsman out, the decision stands and cannot be withdrawn by the fielding captain — unlike in some other sports, withdrawing an appeal after the umpire's decision is not provided for in cricket's Laws. The captain can choose not to make the appeal in the first place, and in many cases captains have elected not to appeal for timed out even when the time limit had technically expired, on spirit-of-cricket grounds. Once made and upheld, the timed-out dismissal is in the scorebook and cannot be reversed by the fielding side's choice. The DRS system cannot review timed-out decisions — it's a factual matter (was the batsman ready in time?) rather than a ball-tracking question.
Does the timed-out batsman's name appear in the scorebook?
Yes — a batsman given out 'Timed Out' appears in the scorebook with the notation 'Timed Out' under the dismissal column, with a score of 0 (since they never faced a delivery). It is technically an unusual entry because the batsman didn't score any runs and didn't face any balls — the innings length is 0 balls with 0 runs. No bowler is credited with the dismissal (it's a Law 40 umpire's decision, not a bowler's wicket). In career statistics, the timed-out batsman counts it as a dismissal (it reduces their batting average the same way any dismissal does) but it appears as 0 runs off 0 balls — a statistical anomaly with no parallel in normal batting records.