5 cricketers who died young?

Death is a part of life; such simple a fact and yet such a difficult pill to swallow. It happens to everyone, but it is never something we wish for our loved ones. But things are supposed to end, aren’t they? What makes them unacceptable, in general, is the timing.

There is a difference between an 80 year-old dying to a 40 year-old losing their life. While there is loss in both cases, the younger one leaves people in a state of shock due to the age of death. Cricketers, just like every other living being, are pervious to falling prey to the fangs of death.

And there are some of them who left us way too early. With a prayer in my heart for their souls to rest in peace, here are 5 cricketers who died too young…

#5 Hansie Cronje

We shall start the list with one of my most favourite captains of all time. It was a shame that he had to go the way he did. For someone who led his team with such vigilance and valour, the match-fixing scandal is really something that puts a huge black mark on his otherwise impeccable journey as a cricketer.

As a captain, he won 99 ODIs out of the 138 times he led his side – a winning percentage that is only bettered by Ricky Ponting and Clive Lloyd. Only three more captains have won more games in ODIs than him, namely Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ricky Ponting and Allan Border.

However, his career hit the rocks after a match-fixing scandal ruined his name and the South African board banned him for life in 2000. Tragedy struck two years later, however, as on June 1, he became the victim of a plane crash and died at the mere age of 32.

#4 Runako Morton

Runako Morton was a decent batsman on his day

Remember the controversial West Indian player who was once charged with the possession of marijuana? Runako Morton was one of those players who had the talent to destroy an opposition with his wrathful batting, but then go on to streak of indifference for the next million games.

One day, however, the angel of death smiled upon him. His wife and three children were awaiting him at home, expecting him to return after a win against T&TEC in a First-class game, but he never made it. Whilst on his way, his car smashed against a utility pole and he succumbed to his injuries.

Morton left us at the age of 33 and after playing 15 Tests and 56 ODIs for the West Indies. He might not have been among the best West Indies players, but, as Curtly Ambrose puts it, “he's the kind of guy you could go to war with, because he would have your back.”

#3 Manjural Islam Rana

Rana was only 22 when he died

Sometimes we so casually say that some food is worth dying for. Like, for example, ‘that Italian pasta is worth dying for.’ In our country, this great lush of green adorned with uneven and ever-broken roads known as Bangladesh, Choi Jhal is one such dish.

People flock to their favourites restaurants to try out the savoury dish consisting of either mutton or beef with different spices and runny curry. The urge to try it out is sometimes too enticing to let go. So there was Manjural Islam, trying to satiate his desire for a bit of Choi Jhal as he hopped on a bike along with a pal and went racing to his favourite restaurant.

But fate had a cruel twist. Not only could his tongue ever taste another bit of Choi Jhal, he also never returned home as he lost control of his bike and collided with a minibus whilst on his way to the restaurant.

He was only 22 then and died along with this friend, who was also a domestic cricketer for Khulna. That day, he became the youngest Test player to die – a fact I hope no-one ever changes again.

And, no, no food is worth dying for. None.

#2 Malcolm Marshall

Malcolm Marshall

At the peak of his power, Malcolm Marshall was a raging bull that you couldn’t stop even with tranquillisers. The West Indians always had a way to produce fast bowlers, but Marshall was something else entirely.

I mean, look at his stats. In 81 Tests, he took 376 wickets at an average of 20.94. Yes, 20.94. That is the best average for any bowler that took over 200 Test wickets in the history of the game. He was fast, and really, really fast. But even Shaun Tait is fast.

What set him apart was his unmistakable sense of pitching the ball at the right areas and the ability to get the vicious late swings that make batsmen curl up in the corner of the dressing and writhe in agony.

After retiring from the game, he took up the job of coaching, but had to cut it short after finding out that he was afflicted with colon cancer. He lost his battle with the disease on 4th November, 1999, aged 41 and weighing just 25 kilos at the time.

#1 Phil Hughes

Hughes was one of the most talented cricketers we lost too early

This was one of the incidents that shook the cricketing fraternity to the core. Whilst defending the crest of South Australia in a Sheffield Shield game against New South Wales, Sean Abbott’s bouncer hit him in the neck and he lost consciousness on the pitch.

He was rushed to the St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney where he received surgery and was placed in an induced coma from which he never regained consciousness. Two days later, on 27th November, 2014, Hughes succumbed to his injury – just 3 days before his 26th birthday – and died, leaving the world in a state of shock.

To this day, Sean Abbott hasn’t been able to play international games since that incident as the events gave him a drastic psychological blow.