Even an umpire has been killed on the cricket field talk about...

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    Even an umpire has been killed on the cricket field talk about unlucky.
    Cricket umpire, 72, killed as ball thrown by fielder hits him on the head

    By David Wilkes for the Daily Mail
    Updated: 21:06 AEST, 6 July 2009

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    Alcwyn Jenkins: Died of head injury after he failed to see the ball coming
    A cricket umpire has died after a ball thrown by a fielding player hit him on the head.
    Hundreds of fans watched in horror as Alcwyn Jenkins, 72, failed to see the ball hurtling towards the stumps from the boundary.
    The grandfather, a well known umpire in Welsh cricket, collapsed and players tried to resuscitate him.
    He was airlifted to hospital but never regained consciousness.
    The unnamed Llangennech fielder, whose side were playing home team Swansea on Saturday, is said to be ‘devastated’.
    The South Wales Cricket Association division one match was abandoned.
    The association’s honorary chairman Neil Hobbs, a friend of Mr Jenkins, said: ‘Everyone is shocked. It is very, very sad. Alcwyn was a great guy.
    'He was well respected and everyone knew him. Umpires do get hit by the ball occasionally, but the chances of a fatality must be less than one in a million. No one can believe it.’
    Spectator Paul Llewellyn, 51, said: ‘Nobody was to blame. The fielder threw the ball back to the wicket but the umpire didn’t see it. I saw him lying on the pitch. No one was sure what had happened at first.’


    Veteran: Mr Jenkins (far left) with a West Indian team during a recent tour there
    The St Helen’s ground in Swansea is famous as the venue where Sir Garfield Sobers became the first player to hit six sixes off one over in a first class game.
    Umpire Eddie Blake said widower and father of two Mr Jenkins, of nearby Skewen, was ‘devoted’ to cricket.
    He said: ‘He was one of the oldest umpires in the game - but a great guy, a real character.’
    A Llangennech Cricket Club spokesman said: 'We extend our deepest sympathy to his family.'
    A spokesman for Morriston Hospital in Swansea said Mr Jenkins' injuries were consistent with being hit on the head with a cricket ball.
    South Wales Police said there are no suspicious circumstances and a file is being prepared for the coroner.


    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1197617/Cricket-umpire-72-killed-ball-thrown-match.html#ixzz3KK3SGSvF
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