When the Cricket World Cup of 2023 came to an end, a particular event stood out amidst the wins and losses. It was nothing but the way in which the Sri Lankan batter Angelo Mathews got out. It shocked cricket fans across the world. Mathews was supposed to follow Sadeera Samarawickrama in the batting order. When Samarawickrama was out, Mathews came to the ground a bit late as his helmet had some issue and waited to fix it. Bangladesh captain appealed for an out claiming that Mathews reached the ground after the permitted time. His appeal was granted, and the umpire called a ‘timed out.’
According the international rule of cricket, once a batsman is out, the following batsman must face the ball within two minutes. Angelo Mathews became the first batsman to be ‘out’ through the implementation of this rule, because he came late.
Even though there were opinions and arguments supporting and criticizing the umpire’s decision, we cannot deny the possibility of a batter to be declared out as per the rule. Perhaps, in life as well, we might have faced situations in which we lost a chance because we came late. There are people who were expelled from the class because they came late. Some people missed a train or were unable to attend an interview…
There are certain people who always arrive late. They arrive late in schools, offices, churches or temples, or for public functions. They become late comers everywhere.
Timeliness is a quality we need to nurture in our lives. We should be aware that if we reach late somewhere not only us but also others lose time. If the chief guest arrives late for a public function, all the hundreds of participants and the audience lose their time. If a child arrives late for the practice of a play, all others lose their time as well.Â
When setting out on a journey, if someone comes late, everyone else lose his or her time. This not only occurs in the matter of individuals, but also in public matters like a public vehicle, public decisions, court orders, prayer meetings… and so on. The late comers indeed upset all of us.
The commuters complain that the train is late. The faithful complain that the prayer meetings are too lengthy. The applicants complain that files are not settled on time. The witness complains that court procedures are incessantly long. Students complain that the portions are not completed before the examination. The teachers complain that the students do not enter the classroom on time. We can see a long list of people who do not follow timing.
I think we need a proper time table not only for our presence, but also for making our decisions and meting our responsibilities.
We should be able to take decisions at the right time. We must give replies at the right time. We should finish our tasks in the specified time frame. When we procrastinate things without proper awareness of the value of time, we are the losers.
Do not put aside things for tomorrow, but do them at the earliest. We need to make punctuality and doing things at the right time a part of our lifestyle.
As we stand at the threshold of a new year, let us make a decision: I will never cause trouble for others with my carelessness and laziness
