Mind the windows, Fawad

Fawad Alam has made a million runs in domestic cricket, approximately, and all those runs have taken him to England. Not to be in Pakistan's Test squad, of course, but to play as a professional in the Lancashire League. Life cannot be great when you're so near and yet so far from your national team, and life has only got worse for Fawad, who has now inflicted harm upon an unsuspecting pane of glass after being dismissed in the most unusual manner.

Playing for Clitheroe Cricket Club, Fawad broke a dressing-room window after being adjudged timed out in a T20 match against Colne Cricket Club on Friday, while walking in at No. 3 at the fall of opener Thomas Lord's wicket.

Speaking to Geo TV, Fawad said he had broken the window accidentally, while attempting to fling his bat into his kitbag. He did not, however, deny his disappointment at the manner of his dismissal, since he felt he had reached the crease in time.

"According to the law the incoming batsman must take the wicket within two minutes but the umpire gave me timed out before the allocated time and asked me to leave," Fawad said. "I eventually had to leave. I was infuriated, which is quite obvious when something like this happens to you. So when I went back to the dressing room I threw my bat towards my bag which I had kept some distance away, near the window, only to hit the window by mistake. It was unintentional and unfortunately it was unnecessarily blown out of proportion.

"Never in my whole career has a finger been pointed at me for indiscipline, so this Lancashire League incident was unfortunate and painful for me."

According to Law 40.1, the incoming batsman actually has three minutes, and not two, to be in his crease after the fall of the previous wicket: "After the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batsman, the incoming batsman must, unless Time has been called, be in position to take guard or for the other batsman to be ready to receive the next ball within 3 minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batsman will be out, Timed out."

Timed out was added to the MCC's Laws of Cricket only in 1980, and is an exceedingly rare dismissal. It has only occurred a handful of times at first-class level, most notably in 2002 when the West Indies fast bowler Vasbert Drakes found himself stuck in an airplane - on his way from the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka to play a domestic game in South Africa - when his turn to bat arrived.

As for breaking windows, Matt Prior was involved in a similar incident after being run out during the Lord's Test against Sri Lanka in 2011 - a rebounding bat blamed for showering glass on MCC members below the England dressing room.