When a normal everyday part of the game can have such sad consequences
What happened?
An experienced cricket umpire, aged seventy-two, was umpiring an amateur club match. Two batters went for a quick single. The fielder collected the ball and in one motion turned quickly to throw it at the stumps.
The umpire prepared himself for a possible run out by moving to position himself to make the decision. In the process, he turned his back on the fielder to concentrate on the ball hitting the stumps, and did not see the throw come in.
The fielder later said ‘it was only after I had thrown the ball that I saw that the umpire was in the way.’
There were a couple of warning shouts, but the ball struck the umpire on the head, and he collapsed. Players and officials rushed to his assistance but he was unconscious. He was flown by air ambulance to hospital where he was later pronounced dead. A post mortem examination found the widower had died as a result of a head injury.
The umpire had either not heard the warnings, had not had time to react or, added the PC who investigated the death, ‘had been so professional he did not want to take his eyes off the stumps.’
The umpire had known the fielder who threw the ball since he coached him from the age of ten, and since the death of his wife the inquest heard that he had ‘devoted his life to his grandchildren and his second love cricket.’
Legal Outcome
Recording a verdict of accidental death, the coroner said the incident that led to the death was a ‘normal everyday part of the game.’
What can we learn from what happened?
A very sad case study, and a reminder that even an amateur game of club cricket on a summer’s afternoon can lead to a tragedy such this.
The mechanics of the incident are that a very hard ball was thrown at high speed, and hit the umpire on the side of the head. That was enough to cause the death, and for anyone who runs facilities where cricket is played, it is important to consider this worst case scenario when assessing risk.
This is not to say that this death could have been prevented. The fielder was doing what fielders do, and while his throw may not have been perfect (although it is worth mentioning that when umpires prepare to adjudicate on run outs they often stoop quite low, so perhaps it was), it was not reckless. And the umpire was doing exactly what umpires should do. It’s all part of the game.
Should umpires be protected? The idea has been suggested in the professional game, although more in the context of batters smashing the ball back in their direction when they are standing at the bowler’s end. So far this idea has not really gained traction, and whether, if implemented, it would feed down to the club leagues is another matter.
Source of Information
The Times Newspaper
BBC News Online