15 Tragic deaths on the cricket field

15 Tragic deaths on the cricket field: The game which gives so many in the world a career, joy to its fans and talking points to the experts and yet a game with the danger of loosing one’s life. Cricket has witnesses many tragedies but the one’s we are going to mention will absolutely melt you. While Cricket is a relatively safe sport when compared with motor and contact sports, any elite sport carries significant risks. Earlier fatal injuries were being justified as a lack of safety equipments but the recent death of Phil Hughes, promising Australian cricketer has shown that there is no guarantee even with those. The cricket ball, substantially hard, has killed several cricket players, even umpires. Here we are mentioning 15 Tragic deaths on the cricket field: 1. Zulfiqar Bhatti, 22 (Pakistan, 2013) (source) Promising young Pakistani cricketer, Zulfiqar Bhatti died after being hit on the chest by a rising ball. Bhatti, 22, was batting at his usual one down position for his local club “Super Star cricket club”, when the tragedy occurred. The authorities, as a mark of respect for the popular cricketer, announced a three-day suspension of all sporting activities in Sukkur, the third largest city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Also Read – 14 Most Deadly fast bowlers in the history of Cricket 2. Darryn Randall, 32 (South Africa, 2013) Randall was competing in a South African domestic match when he was hit on the side of the head when attempting a pull shot. The wicketkeeper-batsman collapsed and was immediately rushed to hospital, but he could not be revived upon arrival. The incident took place on 27 October 2013. The British born cricketer had made his first class debut just four years back in 2009. 3. Richard Beaumont, 32 (England, 2012) (source) The fast bowler had taken five wickets during a club match in Stourbridge, in the English West Midlands, before suffering a heart attack and collapsing on the pitch. The fast-bowler was airlifted to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival. A spokesman for the Worcestershire League later said his team would establish a small garden in his memory at the Pedmore Cricket Club. 4. Alcwyn Jenkins, 72 (England, 2009) (source) Jenkins was umpiring a league match in Swansea when he was struck on the head by the ball after a fielder had thrown it in Jenkins’ direction accidentally. Jenkins was airlifted to hospital but did not recover from his injuries. The fielder involved has not been named and the accident has been described as “one of the most freak accidents you could ever imagine on the cricket field”. 5. Wasim Raja 54, (Pakistan, 2006) Raja represented Pakistan during his playing career and went on to become an ICC match referee. He suffered a heart attack when playing for Surrey in an Over 50s game at Marlow in Buckinghamshire, having played 57 Test matches and 54 ODI’s for his country. His brother Rameez also played Test cricket for Pakistan and is a noted cricket commentator these days. 6. Raman Lamba 38, (India, 1998) (source) The former India international was hit on the head while fielding during a club match in Dhaka. Lamba, was making his comeback to Test cricket. He had declined to wear a helmet during the game while fielding which proved fatal. Standing at short-leg close to the batsman, the opener sustained serious brain injuries and went into a coma three days after the incident before being pronounced dead. As well as India, Lamba represented Ireland in unofficial ODI matches. 7. Ian Folley 30, (England, 1993) Folley had been tipped for an England call-up before a left-arm injury saw him retire from the game. He would return in 1991, but was hit below the eye in a freak accident while batting in a domestic match for Derbyshire against Workington. While under anaesthetics in the hospital, Folley suffered a heart attack and was pronounced dead. He picked up a total of 287 wickets in his first-class career that spanned 140 matches. 8. George Summers 25, (England, 1870) (source) Summers was struck on the head while batting for Nottinghamshire against the MCC at Lord’s. He initially appeared to recover from the injury and didn’t go to hospital, instead returning home to Nottingham by train, but died from the effects of his injury four days later. This was one of those incidents which was avoidable had he taken a doctor’s advice. 9. Syed Faaqer Ali, 34 (Pakistan, 2008) (source) He was the son of Syed Abid Ali, and son-in-law of Syed Kirmani, both of whom have played cricket for Team India before. He was playing a league match for Tracy United Cricket Club as part of the Northern California Cricket Association league in Fremont. He was batting well and even hitting boundaries when he suffered a heart attack and thus could not continue and was rushed off the field. He was declared dead about 15 minutes later at Fremont’s Washington Hospital, leaving everybody in shock and disbelief. He was 34. The date was 19th April, 2008. 10. Wilfred Slack, 34 (England, 1989) (source) He was known for his great batting skills using which he was able to score 13950 runs in 237 first class matches with 25 hundreds. His health started showing bad signs when he started blacking out while playing – this happened on at least four instances before the day he eventually passed away on 15 January, 1989 at the early age of 34. He collapsed while batting for Cavaliers XI during a game in The Gambia, and never recovered again. 11. Phillip Hughes 25, (Australia, 2014) Phillip Hughes. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Unluckiest of all Cricketers who died on the field. Phill Hughes was struck on his neck while trying to pull bouncer of Sean Abott last year in November in a domestic match between South Australia and New South Wales. He missed the ball and it struck him on side of his neck which resulted in causing vertebral artery dissection that led to a brain haemorrhage. Hughes succumbed to his injuries two days later. 12. Ankit Keshri, 19 (India, 2015) Ankit Keshari. (Photo Source: Bengal Ranji Team Facebook Page) Ankit, the captain of the Bengal Under 19 Ranji team suffered a freak head injury in an on field collision with his teammate while trying to catch a ball. The incident happened this year in April. Three days after being in the hospital he died as the injury was pretty severe. The match was between the local East Bengal and Bhowanipore teams. The right hander had earlier also been short-listed for India’s under-19 team for the 2014 Colts World Cup. 13. Bavalan Pathmanathan, 24 (England, 2015) (source) In July this year a British Tamil batsman died after being struck in the chest by a ball while playing in a residential suburb in Surrey over the weekend. Bavalan Pathmanathan turned out for Manipay Parish Sports Club (UK) in division three of the British Tamil League on Sunday at Long Ditton recreation grounds, where he received the blow. Pathmanathan was given CPR and treated by air ambulance doctors but the 24-year-old subsequently died from his injuries. 14. Abdul Aziz, 18 (Pakistan, 1959) The 18 year-old Abdul Aziz died during the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in 1958-59, between Karachi and Services. Aziz was facing an off-spinner when the ball rose sharply and hit him in the chest. He collapsed and was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. The score book entry against his name read: 1st innings retired hurt 0; 2nd innings absent dead 0. 15. Andy Ducat, 56 (England, 1942) (source) The English batsman collapsed and died of a heart attack during a club game at Lord’s in July 1942. He had played one Test match before being repeatedly sidelined due to injuries. The talented sportsman also played football with Woolwich Arsenal and Aston Villa, and represented England for years. He coached the Eton cricket team for five years and is the only player to die at Lord’s. Also Read – Top 10 Most Deadly Injuries In Cricket

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15 Tragic deaths on the cricket field

9. Syed Faaqer Ali, 34 (Pakistan, 2008)

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