Death on the Cricket Field: The tragic case of Raman Lamba and Umpire Alcwyn Jenkins
Fatalities in sports, even though rare, do occur and at times they are very unfortunate and entirely avoidable. In cricket, deaths on the field are extremely rare but they do happen once in a while. There are two prolific cases that can be found in cricket that show us the need to wear protective clothing at all times. The death of Raman Lamba is probably the saddest case of a sports related death in any sport. The Indian batsman was killed playing in a league match in Bangladesh and is fondly remembered in the country. The other case relates to an umpire who died after being struck in the head by a ball thrown from the outfield. Cricket’s governing bodies have stepped up their fight against serious injuries in the game and hopefully these types of incidents will be banished from the game forever.
The death of Indian cricketer Raman Lamba is one of the saddest and most tragic incidents to happen in the game of cricket for as long as any fan can remember. Lamba was a pretty good player who was picked for India to play international matches. He was a good player but was not phenomenal and so was dropped from the national team, but he went on to find a lot of success in club cricket. The tragic cricketer first played club cricket in Ireland and even played on the national team as an overseas player, but he really found his mark in club level cricket in Bangladesh. It was in 1998, during a match in Bangladesh playing for club side Abahani Krira Chakra against Mohammedan Sporting, when the Indian was asked to field at forward short leg. This fielding position was to be his undoing.
Lamba was asked before he stood at the position if he wanted a helmet but he had refused saying that it would affect his balance and reaction speed and it was for only three balls so he would be alright. The ball was bowled and the batsman struck it very hard and it went and hit Lamba on the forehead. Even though the batsman got out as a result of being caught on the rebound, Lamba did not get up. After being rushed to the hospital and having surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain, with the consent of his family, his life support machine was turned off and he died at the age of 38. This sad incident brought about a necessity in wearing a helmet for all players playing at that position. Raman was well loved in Bangladesh and in Ireland and still has many supporters till this day. It was an extremely sad incident that robbed the world of a fantastic club cricketer.
Another tragedy struck cricket, when in 2009 an umpire was struck on the head after being hit by the ball that was thrown in from the outfield. 75 year old umpire, Alcwyn Jenkins, was hit on the head during a Welsh Cricket League match. It was an extremely tragic freak accident, but it brought up the debate of whether umpires should be asked to wear some sort of protective covering on their heads. All sports injuries that occur on the head tend to be fatal; it is for this reason that many sports require the use of a helmet as a rule. American football, all forms of motorsports, ice hockey, all extreme sports and many others all force participants to wear helmets when participating.
On a lighter note, cricket injuries can happen to fans as well as to players. In 2008, during a match between India and Australia being played in Brisbane, a streaker ran out onto the field and got more than he bargained for. 26 year old Robert Ogilvie ran out onto the field stark naked and ran in the path of Aussie batsman Andrew Symonds. Symonds took the opportunity to knock Ogilvie to the ground with a well timed elbow to the ribs. The streaker got a hefty fine for the incident while Symonds got off scot free.
Tragedy can strike at any time and in any sport; it is just a question of who is unlucky on that particular day. Hopefully, with the use of more safety equipment and more stringent health and safety checks for sports, these types of incidents can be completely removed from all sports in the future. No sports fan wants to see a sad death like Raman Lamba’s ever again.
Tags: