5 times cricketers were severely injured on the pitch
They call cricket a ‘Gentlemen’s Game’. However, sometimes it becomes a war. In a match, players compete at the highest level. This has resulted in players suffering deadly blows, and they have even succumbed to death or came out with fatal injuries while batting and fielding.
I have listed down 5 such instances where the impact of the ball resulted in deaths or serious injury.
#1. Phil Hughes
Phil was batting against New South Wales when a bouncer from Sean Abbott struck him below the left ear. He was wearing a helmet but the impact of the ball was at an unprotected area in the neck region. Hughes collapsed. H was then taken to a hospital in Sydney, but they could not save him. He passed away in two days.
#2. Raman Lamba
Raman Lamba was an international cricket player for India. Lamba was playing a division match in Bangladesh when he got hit on his temple by the cricket ball. He was fielding at the forward short-leg. The impact was so strong that he slipped into a coma. The doctors said he suffered an internal haemorrhage.
#3. Abdul Aziz
Abdul Aziz was a Pakistani player. He was playing in a club match. Dilawar Awan, a spinner, bowled at him which struck Aziz just over the heart. When he was preparing to face the next ball from Awan, Aziz fell down and died on the field. He was the first player to die on the cricket field.
#4. Graeme Wood
Graeme Wood was an Australian batsman. While playing against West Indies in 1983, Michael Holding bowled a bouncer at him. It came so fast that Wood could not duck and got hit on his face. They then took him off the ground by a stretcher.
#5. Mike Gatting
Mike Gatting was playing against West Indies in 1986 when Malcolm Marshall bowled a bouncer at him. Gatting tried to pull the ball. The ball hit his nose, and there was blood all around. He was taken off the field and had to undergo plastic surgery.