Umpire John Williams dies one month after being hit on head by a cricket ball

Fatal injuries on the field is not new in the game of cricket. With so much danger involved in the game, the cricketing world has seen quite a number of individuals succumbing to the injuries they received on the fields. A similar incident has taken place once again in which Pembrokeshire County Cricket Club umpire John Williams died after being hit on the head by a cricket ball last month.

The club, which is based in Wales, took to Twitter to confirm the unfortunate news on Thursday. John Williams was a local cricketer, administrator, and an official. Williams, 80, was struck on the head while umpiring a Division Two amateur match between Pembroke and Narberth at Treleet on July 13.

He did receive treatment on the field before being shifted to the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff, according to westerntelegraph.com.uk. Williams went into coma after the blow and eventually lost the battle with his family at his bedside.

“Sad news this morning regarding umpire John Williams. John passed away this morning with his family at his bedside. Thoughts of all of Pembrokeshire Cricket are with Hilary and the boys at this difficult and sad time,” tweeted the club.

Fellow umpire Merfyn John said it was only because of a ‘last-minute swap’ that Mr. Williams stood as an official in the fateful game.

“It’s just one of those things – the ball comes so quickly. You just move out of the way but these boys are so tall and powerful when they hit the ball, it’s just so fast. No words can describe the incident – it really hit me when I heard about it. John is a good umpire, he is fair and he is easy to get on with,” said John as quoted by the itv.com.

Fatal injuries on the field

Over the years, one has seen quite a number of players succumbing to on-field injuries. In fact, deaths on the cricket field are more than a century old. The first reported death on the field took place way back in 1624 when Jasper Vinall was struck on his head by the bat. In recent times, the likes of Raman Lamba, Phil Huges, Darryn Randall died after coping blows on the field.