Mathews’ farewell a lesson in sportsmanship

Even in his final outing for Sri Lanka in Test cricket, Angelo Mathews had no chance to relax as, alongside Dinesh Chandimal, he was battling to see out the Bangladesh spinners in the final session on the fifth day, trying to save his side from a defeat in Galle on Saturday.

Although he couldn't stay in the middle till the end, he fended off 45 deliveries for his eight runs and helped the hosts earn a hard-fought draw.

Throughout the match, the Bangladesh players were extra cordial towards the Sri Lankan legend who was playing his farewell Test, giving him a guard of honour when he came out to bat in the first innings and going up to him to congratulate him on a wonderful career after he was dismissed for the last time in Test cricket.

Mathews had addressed the Bangladesh players as his friends before the Test and his statement rang true throughout the match and especially during one incident in the final session.

Bangladesh had just reviewed a not-out decision against Mathews for an LBW, and while the TV umpire gave his judgement, Mathews and Mushfiqur Rahim struck up a conversation.

The smiles on both their faces indicated that it was a jovial chat, which ended with Mathews playfully stroking Mushfiqur's beard.

After the match, Mathews revealed that Mushfiqur was actually playfully egging him on to hit a big shot, and he responded by saying, "No, Mushfiq, I've played with you since Under-19s and I know you very well -- and this is not the time for me to go for big shots; obviously, we want to draw this game."

Seeing two veterans of the game engaging in playful banter was heartening, and at least in that moment, it seemed that the two players are great buddies.

But that certainly did not seem to be the case on March 18, 2024, when Mushfiqur was re-enacting Mathews' timed-out dismissal while Bangladesh celebrated a 2-1 ODI series win over the Lankans at home.

Mushfiqur Rahim hugs Angelo Mathews prior to the start of the Galle Test. Photo: AFP

Thanks to Bangladesh, Mathews will always have a place in cricketing trivia as the first batter and so far the only one in international cricket to get timed out. And the fact that this happened during a World Cup match in 2023 and the Tigers went on to win that game to effectively replace Sri Lanka in following year's ICC Champions Trophy just added salt to the wound.

Considering what had happened before, Mathews had enough reasons to hold onto resentment against Bangladesh, and especially Mushfiqur.

But the 38-year-old Sri Lankan evidently rose above it, displayed sportsman's spirit, left the past in the past and moved on.

Mathews showed incredible maturity in the entire ordeal, and because of that earned the respect of his peers and opponents.

In the past as well, Mathews was heavily criticised for his lack of fitness by Lankan head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, but rather than engaging in a war of words, he scored a Test century in Wellington in 2018 and did 10 push-ups while looking at Hathurusingha at the dressing room.

Mathews has been dropped from the team multiple times, lost his captaincy to younger guys, but at the end of the day, he was able to keep his ego aside, deal with everything with dignity and receive a grand farewell from the Test arena.

The same, sadly, can't be said for many of Bangladesh's stalwarts.

Senior players drifting away without officially retiring is part of Bangladesh's cricketing culture. Here, cricketers hold onto every incident and in their eyes are often the victim of gross mistreatment. Here, ego often wins at the expense of cricket's betterment.

Mushfiqur himself, for instance, made his retirement announcement from both T20Is and ODIs following criticism over his form. The same applies for Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah Riyad, two other stalwarts of Bangladesh cricket.

So, Bangladeshi cricketers should not just applaud at Mathews' career, but actually learn from it. Only then will the fans get to see their stars walk into the sunset with their heads held high.