List of fatalities while playing cricket

☆ Save On Wikipedia ↗

The following is a list of cricket players who died while playing a game, died directly from injuries sustained while playing, or died after being taken ill on the ground.

PlayerCauseDatePlace
England Jasper VinallStruck on the head by a bat as a result of a double-hit attempt.[1]28 August 1624Horsted Keynes, Sussex
England Henry Brand Struck on the head by a bat. Notable for being a similar double-hit to Vinall, which may have resulted in the 1744 codification of the rule.[1]1647Selsey, West Sussex.
England John BootsKilled while batting. He collided with his partner whilst going for a run. Both men were knocked down but got up again, only for Boots to drop down dead as he was running to his wicket.[2][3]31 May 1737Newick, Sussex
England Frederick, Prince of WalesKeen on cricket and real tennis, it's been speculated that he died from either a pulmonary embolism or a burst abscess caused by being hit with a ball[4]20 March 1751London
England James Balchen "Killed by a cricket ball"[5] buried 14 June 1764 Godalming, Surrey
England George SummersStruck on the head by a ball bowled by John Platts.[6]29 June 1870Nottingham
England John Hamilton Plumptre Lighton Son of Rev. Sir Christopher Lighton, Baronet; struck by a return drive by a batsman[7][8] 12 July 1872 Repton, Derbyshire
England William Jupp Died after suffering a brain injury during a cricket match.[9] 3 August 1878 Chertsey, Surrey
England Claude WilsonKilled by sunstroke[10]29 June 1881Betchworth, Surrey
England Lord Fitzroy SomersetYoungest son of the Duke of Beaufort; collapsed and died of suspected heart failure[11]23 July 1881near Tetbury, Gloucestershire
England Frederick Randon Sr.Struck on the head by a ball at Lord's in 1881, from which he never fully recovered, dying in February 1883[12]17 February 1883Hathern, Leicestershire
England Frederick JackmanCollapsed while batting[13]5 September 1891Horndean, England
Australia Charles LaneStruck over the heart by a ball[14]20 May 1895Cosme, Paraguay
England Arthur Earlam Struck by a return drive by the batsman[15] July 1921 Runcorn, Cheshire
Australia Walter Duff Died of complications from a broken leg during a cricket match.[16] 11 November 1921 Sydney, Australia
England Edward Cox Heart failure while playing cricket[17] 23 July 1925 Holyport, Berkshire, England
Australia William John Griffiths Struck by a ball in the head when attempting to take a catch during practice resulting in a skull fracture.[18] 16 October 1928 Melbourne, Australia
Australia Max SmithStruck by a ball (bowled by his younger brother Clive Smith) which deflected into his head.[19]27 October 1941Werribee, Australia
England Andy DucatHeart failure[20]23 July 1942London
England Tom KillickHeart problem[21]18 May 1953Northampton
Pakistan Abdul AzizStruck over the heart by a ball[22]17 January 1959Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Australia Martin Bedkober Died when hit over the heart by a cricket ball;[23] flatmate of Jeff Thomson 13 December 1975 Brisbane, Queensland
England Michael Ainsworth"Suddenly"[24]28 August 1978Hillingdon, London
England Wilf SlackCollapsed while batting[25]15 January 1989Banjul, the Gambia
England Ian FolleyHeart attack while being treated in hospital for eye injury sustained on the field[26]30 August 1993Whitehaven, Cumbria
India Raman LambaStruck on the head by a ball while fielding[27]23 February 1998Dhaka, Bangladesh
Barbados Mark Lavine Heart attack[28] 12 May 2001 Coventry, England
Pakistan Wasim RajaSuffered a heart attack on the pitch[25][29]23 August 2006Marlow, Buckinghamshire
South Africa Darryn RandallStruck on the head by a ball[25]27 October 2013Alice, Eastern Cape
Australia Phillip HughesStruck on the neck by a ball during a Sheffield shield match bowled by Sean Abbott[30]27 November 2014Sydney, New South Wales
Namibia Raymond van SchoorStroke[31]20 November 2015Windhoek, Namibia
India Rajesh Ghodge Collapsed while playing in a local cricket tournament[32] Margao, Goa, India
India Shyamji Kanojia Heart attack while fielding during a in a senior veterans cricket match.[33] 3 January 2021 Virar, Mumbai
Australia Ben Austin Struck on the neck by a ball during practice[34]28 October 2025Melbourne, Australia

References

  1. McCann 2004, pp. xxxiii–xxxiv.
  2. Buckley 1935, p. 14.
  3. McCann 2004, p. 16.
  4. Cavendish, Richard. "Death of Frederick, Prince of Wales". History Today.
  5. www.ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/4790/images/40761_312029-00208?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=e61b351232038c122b686de7e4c04bf2&usePUB=true&_phsrc=XKp511&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.192049642.1517238373.1637392024-166252373.1632151042&pId=1029062. Retrieved 21 November 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "NCCC News: Nottinghamshire Cricketers Part 7". www.trentbridge.co.uk.
  7. "Sad Death of a Baronet's Son". York Herald. York, Yorkshire. 13 July 1871. p. 11. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  8. "Cricketer". 1921. 13.
  9. "Fatal Accident in the Cricket Field". Surrey Times and County Express. 10 August 1878. p. 6. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  10. "Deaths". The Times. No. 30237. London. 4 July 1881. p. 1.
  11. "Sudden Death of Lord Fitzroy Somerset". Bath Chronicle. 28 July 1881. p. 6. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  12. "Famous cricketers: the Randons". www.hathernhistory.co.uk.
  13. "Death in the cricket field". Hampshire Post and Southsea Observer. 11 September 1891. p. 6. Retrieved 6 July 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. Evita Burned Down Our Pavilion: A Cricket Odyssey through Latin America
  15. "Cricketer". 1. 13. 1921.
  16. "A Cricketer's Last Game". Evening News. 21 November 1921. p. 3. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  17. "Colonel Edward Henry Cox". Western Daily Press. Bristol. 25 July 1925. p. 7. Retrieved 12 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. The Argus, "Cricketer And Footballer – Death of W. Griffiths", 18 October 1928. p. 14
  19. "Cricket Field Fatality". Werribee Shire Banner. Vic. 30 October 1941. p. 3. Retrieved 3 September 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. Williamson, Martin (4 December 2004). "Not out ... dead". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  21. "Wisden Obituaries in 1953". ESPN Cricinfo. 4 December 2005. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  22. Haigh, Gideon (2006). Peter The Lord's Cat and Other Unexpected Obituaries from Wisden. London, Eng: John Wisden & Co. p. 16. ISBN 1-84513-163-0.
  23. "Queensland Cricket Archive". cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  24. "Wisden Obituaries in 1978". ESPN Cricinfo. 5 December 2005. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  25. "FACTBOX-Cricket-Deaths caused from on-field incidents". Reuters. 27 November 2014. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016.
  26. Powell, Rose (28 November 2014). "Ten fatal cricket injuries before Phillip Hughes died". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  27. "The tragic death of Raman Lamba". Martin Williamson. Cricinfo Magazine, 14 August 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  28. Robinson, Peter (13 May 2001). "North West all-rounder Lavine dies of a heart attack". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  29. "Wasim Raja dies playing cricket". ESPN Cricinfo. 23 August 2006.
  30. Staff reporters (27 November 2014). "Phillip Hughes dead: Australian cricketer dies after bouncer at SCG". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  31. "Namibian cricketer Raymond van Schoor dies, aged 25, five days after on-field collapse due to stroke". abc.net.au. 21 November 2015.
  32. "Former Goa Ranji cricketer Rajesh Ghodge, collapses on field, dies in hospital". India Today. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  33. Gaurav Gupta (3 January 2021). "Former Railways cricketer Kanojia dies on ground in Vasai | Cricket News – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  34. Convery, S. (2025), "Teenager dies after being hit in neck with cricket ball in Melbourne's east", The Guardian, retrieved 30 October 2025

Bibliography