Test cricketer killed by ball

THE FORMER Indian Test cricketer Raman Lamba was declared dead yesterday three days after being hit on the head by a ball.

Lamba, 38, an opener who played four Test matches and 29 one-day internationals for India, suffered severe brain injuries after being hit while fielding in the short-leg position during a match on Friday in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. He was playing for local side Abahani Krira Chakra in premier division match against Mohammadan Sporting Club, and was believed not to have been wearing a helmet.

The blow knocked him unconscious and he was taken to the intensive care unit of the Institute of Post Graduate Medicine and Research in Dhaka, where he spent three days in a coma before doctors declared him dead yesterday morning.

Former England and Yorkshire batsman Geoff Boycott, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, said the accident underlined the importance of close fielders wearing a helmet.

"The sad thing for me is it appears, from newspaper reports, if accurate, that he [Lamba] was fielding close in without a helmet. A bang on the helmet may give you a bit of a shock but you should be fine after that."

Leading Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who played alongside Lamba on his international debut in Pakistan in 1989, said: said "It's difficult to put my grief in words. I can't imagine a player died after being hit by the ball. It is truly tragic."

Lamba played club cricket in Bangladesh as a part-time professional. During his international career, he scored 782 runs in 32 one-day internationals, including a century on his debut against Australia.

Over and out

1751 The Prince of Wales (son of George II) was hit in the side while playing cricket at his Buckinghamshire home, Cliveden House. The blow caused an internal abscess, which burst fatally a few months later. One theory says he was hit by a cricket ball, another claims it was a tennis ball.

1870 George Summers died from a blow on the head while batting for Nottinghamshire against the MCC at Lords. he was 25. The bowler, named Platts, was so distraught he changed from fast bowling to slow.

1942 The former Test cricketer Andy Ducat died of a heart attack while batting in a match between Home Guard units at Lords. He was given not out 29 on the scorecard. He was 56.

1959 Abdul Aziz was hit in the chest while batting in Karachi. He had a weak heart, and died from the blow. For his team's second innings, the scorecard pronounced Aziz `absent dead'.