List of cricketers who were murdered

Last updated

This is a chronological list of cricketers who were murdered. These cricketers played in first-class cricket, List A, or at a similar level. This list does not include those who were killed in wars. They are listed separately at List of cricketers who were killed during military service.

NationalityPlayerCircumstances of deathDate of deathNotesReference
1Flag of England.svg England Edward Wright Murdered in riots at Jamaica. [1] 23 November 1904
2Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia Claude Tozer Also a medical doctor, he was shot and killed by a patient. [2] 21 December 1920
3Flag of England.svg England Robert MakantMurdered whilst on duty in Kurdistan. [3] 18 June 1922
4Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa Norman Reid Shot dead by his wife. [4] 5–6 June 1947South African Test cricketer. Was originally reported as having died in 'tragic circumstances'. Investigations by Brian Bassano and David Frith revealed that Reid was shot in the head. His body was found in his bed on 18 June 1947. The death certificate concluded that Reid was shot by his wife "whilst of unsound mind".
5Flag of Rhodesia (1968-1979).svg Rhodesia Huntsman Williams Killed in rocket attack on his vehicle in Rhodesia. [5] 3 August 1978
6Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago Jeff Stollmeyer Shot five times and beaten about the head by intruders at his Port-of-Spain home. [6] 10 September 1989Stollmeyer captained West Indies in 13 Test matches
7Flag of India.svg India Muni Lal Murdered along with his wife by burglars who broke into his house. [7] 8 January 1990Editor of Crickinia, an early Indian cricket annual, from 1939 to 1944, uncle of Arun Lal, Indian high commissioner in the West Indies and ambassador in Somalia
8Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan Haseeb-ul-Hasan Shot by an unknown gunman. [8] 18 April 1990
9Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa William Strydom Shot during a robbery. [9] 20 February 1995
10Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka Mahinda Jayaratne Died two days after being shot by a gunman who arrived by motorcycle at his home. [10] 15 March 1997
11Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa Ashley Harvey-Walker Shot dead in a Johannesburg bar. [11] 28 April 1997
12Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka Wirantha Fernando Killed by a mob. [12] 17 April 2000First to captain Colts Cricket Club at FC level
13Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa Francois Weideman Shot during a robbery. [13] 4 June 2001
14Flag of the United States.svg United States Nezam Hafiz Worked at the World Trade Center, New York during 9/11. [14] 11 September 2001First-class player for Guyana and later the US.
15Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand Mark Parker As a result of the Bali bombings. [15] 12 October 2002
16Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan Rahatullah Shot. [16] 11 February 2008
17Flag of Uganda.svg Uganda Charles LwangaBeaten to death with iron bars by unknown assailants. [17] 2 November 2010Played for Uganda in the 2001 ICC Trophy
18Flag of Namibia.svg Namibia Louis Vorster Shot during an armed robbery. [18] 18 April 2012
19Flag of the United States.svg United States Errol PeartShot while helping the victim of an attempted robbery. [19] 2 December 2012Played for USA in the 1990 ICC Trophy
20Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh Kuntal Chandra Body found in the outskirts of Dhaka. [20] 2 December 2012
21Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa John Commins Found dead in his home in Cape Town. [21] 3 January 2013Uncle of Test cricketer John Commins
22Flag of Bermuda.svg Bermuda Fiqre Crockwell Shot dead in Pembroke Parish, Bermuda. [22] 20 June 2016
23Flag of Jamaica.svg Jamaica William Haye Shot dead in Jamaica. [23] 18 March 2019
24Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka Dinesh Schaffter Found bound and gagged in his car in Borella, Sri Lanka. [24] 16 December 2022Son of Chandra Schaffter and brother of Prakash Schaffter
25Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka Dhammika Niroshana Shot dead outside his home. [25] 17 July 2024First class cricketer and former Sri Lanka U-19 captain.

Possibly murdered

No.PlayerCircumstances of deathDate of deathNotesPlayer Profile
1 Flag of England.svg Percy Hardy Found dead on the floor of a lavatory at King's Cross station with his throat cut and a blood-stained knife by his side. [26] 9 March 1916 Somerset history maintains Hardy committed suicide rather than be sent back to World War I battlefields. [27]
2 Flag of India.svg Rajesh Peter Found dead in his flat in New Delhi in suspicious circumstances. [28] 16 November 1995Indian first-class player
3 Flag of South Africa.svg Tertius Bosch Believed to have died from Guillain–Barré syndrome, but post mortem suggested that he was poisoned. The case has now been closed and nothing was found. [29] 14 February 2000South African Test player
4 Flag of England.svg Bob Woolmer Found dead in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica during the 2007 cricket World Cup. Originally believed to have been strangled but the investigation returned an open verdict, ruling out neither strangulation nor death by natural causes. [30] 18 March 2007Woolmer, a former English Test cricketer, was the coach of the Pakistan cricket team at the time of his death
5 Flag of Pakistan.svg Nauman Habib Reportedly a victim of murder. [31] 11 October 2011Played 63 first-class and 30 List A matches in Pakistan

References

  1. "Edward Wright". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  2. Bull, Andy (24 April 2012). "Cricket's bad news week". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  3. "Makant's obituary in 1923 Wisden". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  4. Frith, David (2001). Silence of the Heart. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN   978-1-84018-406-8.
  5. "Williams' obituary in 1979 Wisden". ESPNcricinfo. 5 December 2005. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  6. "Stollmeyer's obituary in 1990 Wisden". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  7. Dossa, Anandji; Menon, Mohandas (eds.). ACSSI Yearbook 1989-90. India: Association of Cricket Statisticians and Scorers of India.
  8. "Haseeb-ul-Hasan's obituary in 1991 Wisden". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  9. "Strydom's obituary in 1996 Wisden". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  10. "Jayaratne's obituary in 1998 Wisden". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  11. "Harvey-Walker's obituary in 1998 Wisden". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  12. Berenger, Leon; Kamalendran, Chris (23 April 2000). "Crime time". The Sunday Times . Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  13. "Francois Weideman". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  14. "Nezam's obituary in 2003 Wisden". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  15. Isaacs, Richard (15 October 2002). "Bali bomb claims life of prolific Parker". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  16. "Former Pakistan under-19 cricketer shot dead". ESPNcricinfo. 12 February 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  17. "When cricketers hit the sweet spot". Monitor. 30 May 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  18. "Namibia's Louis Vorster dies in armed robbery". ESPNcricinfo. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  19. Della Penna, Peter (3 December 2012). "Former USA player Errol Peart murdered in Florida". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  20. "Bangladesh first-class player Kuntal Chandra dies aged 28". ESPNcricinfo. 4 December 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  21. "Former WP spinner murdered". Sport24 . 3 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  22. "Cricketer Crockwell fatally shot". The Royal Gazette . 21 June 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  23. "Former Jamaica cricketer William Haye murdered, house set on fire". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  24. "Schaffter family issues statement following the demise of Dinesh Schaffter". 16 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  25. "Former Sri Lanka Under-19 captain Dhammika Niroshana shot dead". 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  26. "Hardy's obituary in 1917 Wisden". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  27. Foot, David (1986). Sunshine, Sixes and Cider. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN   978-0-71538-890-7.
  28. "Peter's obituary in 1997 Wisden". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  29. Robinson, Peter (8 August 2001). "Bosch post mortem suggests poisoning". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  30. "Police close Woolmer case after open verdict". Agence France-Presse . 28 November 2007. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  31. "Nauman Habib found dead in Peshawar". ESPNcricinfo. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2019.