Posted on 07/05/2009 2:02:42 PM PDT by libh8er
An umpire has died after being struck on the head by a ball in a freak accident during a local cricket match.
Alcwyn Jenkins was officiating a game at the St Helen’s ground in Swansea yesterday afternoon when he collapsed after the blow.
The 72-year-old from the Sketty area of the city was airlifted to hospital but died shortly afterwards.
The game between Swansea and Llangennech in Division One of the Antur Insurance South Wales Association was later abandoned.
Witnesses said a batsmen hit the ball to a boundary where a fielder threw it back to the wicket. But Mr Jenkins failed to see it coming at speed and it hit him on the side of the head.
A statement on the website of the South Wales Cricket Association said: “We are shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic accidental death of umpire Alcwyn Jenkins from an injury sustained on the field of play at St Helen’s today.
“Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”
Eddie Blake, a fellow umpire, said Mr Jenkins was “devoted” to the sport. The 59-year-old from Swansea said: “He was one of the oldest umpires and he was a smashing guy; a real character.
“He was very popular on the local cricket scene and welcome in all of the clubs.
“Everybody respected Alcwyn and it is a big, big loss; not just to cricket but also to his family and friends.”
He added: “When I heard the news I was umpiring a match in Port Talbot and I couldn’t believe it when I heard.
“We got a message to say he had been hit by a ball and collapsed.
“Half an hour later somebody came through to say he had died.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Prayers for his family.
/johnny
What a shame. Friendly-looking guy.
That’s very sad. Cricket is a great game, and the Umpires are an important part of it.
Prayers up from New Zealand for the family.
Cricket balls are so hard and there is so little protection for most of the players I am surprised there aren’t more injuries and deaths.
Tragic story.
I was watching a baseball game today and was once again left wondering about why certain players and people on the field have to wear a helmet and others don’t. Batters, base runners, base coaches and catchers have to wear helmets but no one else does. Has anyone ever come up with a reasonable formula as to why this is?
My son was playing short in a Legion game with a man on first. Slow roller came to him, umpire stepped back to watch possible play at second as my son fired the ball to first. Hit the umpire in the head and sounded like he had hit a bat. Guy went down immediately, he actually came back in the game later, I don’t know how.
The other thing important to note about the Cricket ball: except for the wicket-keeper, who has gloves, the Cricket ball is always caught with bare hands, often on the fly at high speed.
This means that the catches in Cricket are much more dramatic and exciting than in baseball: there is alot of diving and cushioning of the ball with both hands — anything to slow the ball down and take some of the sting out of it.
The Cricket is not a game for the faint-hearted.
> Cricket balls are so hard and there is so little protection for most of the players I am surprised there aren’t more injuries and deaths.
Helmets are a fairly new innovation and many players try to avoid the indignity of the helmet if they can.
The game is all about intimidating the batsman to leave the wicket unguarded. That’s why the bowler bowls the ball to bounce up at the batsman, often at his face. It’s his bad luck if it hits him — unlike in baseball.
The batsman, in turn, is free to hit the ball in any direction, 360 degrees. He doesn’t have to hit it forward, he can even scoop it back behind him. So, pretty much everybody on the pitch is at risk from the ball, and have to be watching out at all times. There is no “offside”: runs can be scored in any direction at all.
I still remember the old staying: “That’s a sticky wicket.”
RIP.
Prayers for his family, but still, not a bad way to go...
We all have to go sometime. I can think of worse ways to cash in my chips than while doing something I love best.
My fear as I get older is being hospitalized and wheezing into tubes for months on in. Or suffering a stroke and being a virtual invalid.
72 years is not a bad run.
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