Timed Out and 3 other ways a batsman can be dismissed without facing the ball

Sri Lankan cricketer Angelo Mathews' 'Timed Out' dismissal during the ICC World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh has been one of the most bizarre dismissals in the history of international cricket.

Mathews was dismissed because he took more than 2 minutes to face the next ball after coming onto the crease. A broken strap of his helmet caused the delay according to Mathews, while Bangladesh skipper Shakib al Hasan appealed for a dismissal. Mathews had to depart without facing the ball.

While Shakib al Hasan is receiving criticism for going against the spirit of the game, some have argued that he was playing within the rules of the game.

However, the 'Timed Out' dismissal isn’t the only way of getting a batsman out without even facing a ball. There are 3 other ways a batsman can be declared out without facing the ball.

Here are they:

Handling the ball

• If the batter handles the ball with the hand to prevent the ball from hitting the wicket, or without the consent of the fielding side, then he can be dismissed for this action.
• This does not include being hit on the hand by a delivery or any other non-deliberate action.
• In 2017, when the Laws of Cricket were being rewritten, it was subsumed into the Law on obstructing the field.
• The change means that the batter will still be dismissed for the act of handling the ball, but will be recorded as obstructing the field.
• There have been at least 5 instances in international cricket when batters were dismissed after touching the ball with their hand.
• Steve Waugh's dismissal in 2001 during a match against India is one of the examples of this dismissal. Here is a video of the dismissal.

   

Mankading

• The dismissal named after Indian all-rounder Vinod Mankad is another form of run-out when a bowler can dismiss the non-striker batter if he advances too far off the crease before the ball is delivered.
• In March 2022, the MCC laws of cricket made significant changes and moved the Mankading from unfair to play (law 41) to Law 38 of the run out.
• This means the batters can be judged and a bowler can appeal after he takes the bails off when the batter advances the crease to complete a run fast.
• In international cricket, there have been a total of 11 Mankading dismissals so far.
• The most recent one in international cricket was of Pakistan's Shadab Khan, who was Mankaded by Afghanistan's Fazalhaq Farooqui in the second ODI in August 2023.

Obstructing the field

• The batter can be dismissed if he obstructs the efforts of the fielder to gather the ball or effect a run-out.
• This doesn’t include running a path between a fielder and a wicket so that the fielder is unable to hit the wicket.
• There have been at least 7 instances where cricketers like Ben Stokes, Mohammad Hafeez, Ramiz Raja, Mohinder Amarnath, Len Hutton, and Anwar Ali have been dismissed for obstructing the field.
• Ben Stokes' dismissal is the latest one when, during a match against England, Stokes attempted to obstruct the ball, while the bowler Mitchell Starch threw the ball at the stumps. Watch it here.

   

• Another classic example of a batsman being dismissed while obstructing the field is Inzamam ul Haq.

• During the India vs Pakistan ODI in February 2006, Haq was dismissed after he attempted to obstruct the field during a throw by Indian cricketer Suresh Raina.

• Although Inzamam had done that to prevent the ball from hitting his body, he was dismissed because he had obstructed the wickets as well as had used the bat to stop the ball. Here is a video of that dismissal.