5 Deadly injuries in cricket history

Injuries have been a major part of sport. It can have an adverse effect on a sportsman’s life. There have been certain injuries that have ended a few careers in various sports, including cricket. In fact, there have been multiple occasions when an external injury on the field has forced players to retire.

In cricket, injuries have played a huge role. Some injuries have been such that they’ve even been life-threatening and a few of them have taken away lives as well. It’s never a pleasant sight to watch someone go down and not being able to pick up yourself again.

There have been quite a few deadly injuries in the history of cricket. Here are five such injuries.

(Note – Injuries considered are all post-2000)

1. Mark Boucher – 2012

Mark Boucher may be in the news as South Africa’s head coach these days. But back in 2012, his career ended abruptly. When South Africa toured England in 2012, they played a practice game against Somerset. Boucher who was keeping was struck on his left eye by a bail after the ball hit the stumps.

It was a freak eye injury and he was diagnosed with a lacerated eyeball. The wicket-keeper batsman who served South African cricket for more than 15 years underwent a surgery immediately. With the recovery period unknown, the freak eye injury forced him to bid adieu to international cricket and he hasn’t taken the field since then.

Boucher made his debut in 1997 and played a staggering 147 Test matches and 295 ODI games. He was one of the pillars of South African cricket and has contributed a lot to its success.

2. Phillip Hughes – 2014

27th of November, 2014 will always be a black day in the history of cricket. It marks the death anniversary of Phil Hughes. It was a tragedy that setback and shook Australian cricket and its players as well.

Playing a Sheffield Shield game for New South Wales (NSW) in Sydney, Hughes was hit by a bouncer from Sean Abbot. The left-handed opener who was batting on 63 was struck on the top of the neck. He collapsed as soon as the ball hit him and the impact was really big. Hughes was rushed to the hospital but after a few days, he died at the age of 25.

The Australian cricketers along with the cricketing fraternity mourned the youngster’s death. Hughes’ death brought the importance of helmets and having more protection on the head gear to light.

3. Rilee Rossouw – 2012

Lasith Malinga is one of the leading white-ball fast bowlers in world cricket. He was at his prime a few years back and one of the best exponents of the yorker. In fact, he had an excellent bouncer as well along with a deceptive slower one. The ace Sri Lankan pacer could well be termed as a complete T20 bowler.

While Malinga has foxed plenty of batsmen with his searing yorkers, in 2012, there was one bouncer which was too hot to handle for Rilee Rossouw. Playing the first season of the Sri Lankan Premier League, Rossouw was playing for Basnahira Cricket Dundee and Malinga turned out to play for Ruhuna Royals.

Malinga bowled a 141 kmph bouncer which in the 13th over when Rossouw was batting on 31. The left-hander tried to hook the ball but it hit him flush on the nose. Malinga was quick to apologize and ran up to Rossouw who was bleeding. He was taken off subsequently and received three stitches. It could’ve been very nasty if the ball would’ve sneaked through and hit his eyes and Rossouw was saved by the helmet grill.

4. Anil Kumble – 2002

Anil Kumble was one of the bravest cricketers of his time. There were very few things that could stop him from walking out on the park and bowling. And a fractured jaw was not one of them.

During India’s tour to the Caribbean, Kumble was struck on the jaw by Merv Dillon in the Antigua Test match. The leg-spinner was bleeding and spat out a lot of blood. However, he continued to bat for about 20 minutes more. But he even came out to bowl with a bandage all around his head.

The Karnataka cricketer was due to fly to Bangalore the following day for surgery but he decided to give it his all. Kumble sent down 14 overs and also picked up the wicket of Brian Lara in what went down as one of the bravest moments in the history of the game. However, it was a big injury as a few centimetres here and there could’ve ended Kumble’s career back in 2002.

5. Mark Vermeulen – 2003 & 2004

There are a few incidents that change a cricketer forever and an injury is certainly one that can have a big impact on one’s life. Mark Vermeulen was a regular member of the Zimbabwe team in the early 2000s. He even played the 2003 World Cup. During that tournament, he was struck on the head during practice and it resulted in a two-month hiatus.

However, his return wasn’t great either. Almost a year later, Vermeulen was once again struck by a bouncer and this time the ball sneaked in and hit him right above his eye. He fell immediately but was later able to get up and walk back to the pavilion.

Vermeulen suffered a hairline fracture in the skull and had an unsuccessful surgery which put his career in jeopardy. However, he did return to the park and even represented Zimbabwe till 2014.