Cricket umpire Tony de Nobrega was officiating in a third-grade match in the West Australian Suburban Turf Cricket Association.
While the cricketing world has seen the likes of International umpire Bruce Oxenford wearing a plastic underarm shield to prevent injuries, a Western Australian cricket umpire Tony de Nobrega ended up in the hospital after a straight drive from a batsman hit his face landing a brutal blow to the face.
Nobrega was officiating in a third-grade match in the West Australian Suburban Turf Cricket Association (WASTCA) between North Perth and Wembley Districts at Charles Veryard Reserve, when he suffered the injury during the weekend.
“Spending the night in hospital Tony was fortunate enough not to have had any broken bones however the doctors are keeping him under observation as surgery is not out of the question. We wish Tony all the best for a fast recovery from this terrible incident and look forward to him being up and about shortly. The umpiring team is right behind you mate. Rest up Tony.” the WASTCA Umpires Association posted on Facebook.
In the past, there have been a few incidents where cricket umpires were hit by the ball while officiating. In 2019, a 80-year-old umpire John Williams had died while hit by a ball during a local match in Wales. Five years earlier, an Israeli umpire Hillel Oscar died after a ball ricocheted off the stumps and hit him in the head.
While international umpires have been seeing hats or caps officiating in matches, Australian umpire Gerard Abood had worn a helmet while officiating in Big Bash matches in Australia. Another Australian international umpire Bruce Oxenford used to wear a plastic forearm shield.
Oxenford, who officiated in 70 Test matches including eight women’s Tests, had shared about the idea earlier. “I was lying in my hotel bed in Delhi earlier this year when I came up with this idea.My fellow umpire John Ward was on duty in India and had just been hit on the head and badly injured. He was in a bad way. We’d been talking for a long time about how we’re in the firing line and the ball is coming back harder and faster all the time. There’s been talk of helmets but I don’t really want to wear one because I think it will restrict my peripheral vision and hearing and also I don’t think I’m going to get hit in the face. The natural thing is to throw your hands up in front of your face and turn your head away when the ball comes at you but then I thought, ‘What if there’s something like an extended arm guard which would act as a shield?’” Oxenford had told the Daily Mail earlier.
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