List of 10 Cricketers Who Died Too Soon

Cricketers Who Departed Too Soon

There are many such untold stories like this that have occurred over the long history of the game. Be it England’s all-rounder Ben Hollioake at 24 or Ramandeep Lamba, one of the Indian cricketers who died young. Let's find out some more names.

10. Ben Hollioake

One of the biggest tragic deaths of a cricketer is former England all-rounder Ben Hollioake. Hollioake, a Melbourne born cricketer, died in Perth in a car incident. In Melbourne, Australia, on November 11, 1977, Benjamin Caine Hollioake was born. His family moved to England when he was young and he made his first-class debut in England playing for Surrey in 1996.

He made his England debut in an ODI match vs Australia on May 25, 1997. However, in 2002, his bright career came to an end. On March 23, Hollioake’s car was involved in a road accident near his childhood school in Perth. He was returning home in his Porsche 924. He was 24 years and 132 days old when this happened.

9. Hansie Cronje

Former South Africa skipper Hansie Cronje is another player in the list of cricketers who died young. He was born on 25 September 1969 in Bloemfontein and made his South Africa debut on 26 February, 1992 vs Australia. He had a highly successful time as the team's captain.

Cronje, however, died at the age of 32 in a plane crash. The incident happened on 1 June 2002. Cronje's scheduled flight from Johannesburg to his hometown was canceled. He then boarded a Hawker Siddeley HS 748 turboprop aircraft as the lone passenger. However, the plane crashed into Cradock Peak in the Outeniqua Mountains. The two pilots onboard were also killed instantly.

8. Tom Maynard

A highly talented Welsh cricketer Tom Maynard passed away at the age of 23 when he met with an accident by a London Underground train in the early morning of 18 June, 2012. Tom Maynard was the son of former England cricketer Matthew Maynard. He was born on 25 March 1989 in Cardiff. 

Maynard was a professional cricketer for the Glamorgan and Surrey County Club between 2007 and 2012. Maynard's death was one of the most talked about topics at that time. In the morning of 18 June, 2012, at 4 A.M BST, Maynard’s car was stopped by the police in Wimbledon for erratic driving. However, Tom flew from the scene on foot. He was electrocuted by a railroad line close to the Wimbledon station around an hour later. Then a London Underground train struck him as well. His body was found near the tracks at around 5:10 A.M. It was later found that he was heavily on drugs.

7. Malcolm Marshall

Former West Indies cricketer Malcolm Marshall is regarded as one of the greatest of the game. He picked 376 Test wickets over 81 matches to assert his legacy in the game’s history. But, the veteran pacer is one of the big names in the cricketers who died young.
At the age of 41, Marshall succumbed to Colon Cancer. Malcolm left his role as the coach of the West Indies team during the 1999 World Cup when it was revealed that he had Colon Cancer. He wed Connie Roberta Earle, his longtime partner, on September 25, 1999. On 4 November, he passed away in his hometown when he was only 41. He weighed a little more than 25KG at the time.

6. Andrew Symonds

Australian batsman Andrew Symonds is another big veteran of the game who tragically passed away at the age of just 46. Symonds played 198 ODI matches in which he scored 5088 runs for Australia and further played 26 Tests and 14 T20Is.
He had a very successful career. But, he left the universe too soon. At the age of 46, Andrew Symonds’ car was involved in an accident on 14 May 2022. Symonds was killed in a road accident at Hervey Range, just outside of Townsville, Queensland. The police stated that Symonds’ car was rolled near the Alice River Bridge at 10:30 local time. Andrew Symonds was the only person inside the car, and despite the efforts of the paramedics, he was declared dead on-site, shocking the whole world.

5. Manjural Islam Rana

Manjural Islam Rana, a cricketer from Bangladesh who was born on May 4, 1984, died at the age of 22 following a traffic accident. On November 7, 2003, he played his first game for Bangladesh against England.
He was fighting for a spot on the national squad when he was involved in a terrible incident that ultimately led to his death. Rana died on March 16, 2007, in Khulna, after his motorcycle struck a microbus and subsequently an electrical pole. He was 22 years old at the time. Interestingly, just two months before his death, Islam Rana was involved in another bike accident but escaped unharmed.

4. Runako Morton

West Indies batsman Runako Morton passed away at the age of 33 when he met with a road accident. Runako had played 56 ODIs, 15 Tests and 7 T20I matches for West Indies during 2002 and 2010.
Runako died at Chase Village, Trinidad and Tobago, on March 4, 2012, after losing control of his vehicle on the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway and colliding with a utility pole. When he passed away, he was just 33 years old.

3. Collie Smith

West Indies cricketer Collie Smith also met with a tragic incident which took his life. Smith was having a promising career scoring 1331 runs in 26 Test matches for the Caribbean side.
But on 7 September 1959, Smith, travelling with his teammates Garry Sobers and Tom Dewdney to a charity match in London, hit a 10-ton cattle truck. Smith was asleep in the backseat when the collision occurred, and he was thrown forward. He went into a coma and died three days after he failed to regain consciousness.

2. Raman Lamba

Raman Lamba is probably a name that the new generation might not remember. But he is one of the Indian cricketers who died young. He passed away at the age of 38 when he slipped into a coma due to internal haemorrhage after he was hit by a cricket ball while fielding in the Dhaka Premier League.
Raman represented Team India in four Tests and 32 One-Day Internationals. He also represented Ireland in an unofficial ODI match and played in the Dhaka Premier League. On 20 February 1998, during the Abahani Krika Chakra and Mohammedan Sporting Club match, Raman Lamba was hit on his temporal bone by fielder Mehrab Hossain’s throw as he was not wearing a helmet. He was rushed to Post Graduate Hospital in Dhaka, where he was declared dead on 23rd February after he went into a coma due to internal haemorrhage.

1. Phillip Hughes

Perhaps the biggest tragic death in cricket that is talked about is Australian batsman Phillip Hughes. He was considered a highly talented player who was expected to go on to play for more than a decade for Australia. Unfortunately, he passed away on 27 November 2014, aged 25, just a few days after he was struck by a ball during a Sheffield Shield match.
On November 25, during the South Australia and New South Wales match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Hughes was hit on his neck by a bouncer ball bowled by Sean Abbott after Hughes missed the hook shot. Despite wearing a helmet, the ball hit an unprotected area and the batter instantly went down on the ground. He was brought to a local medical facility.
The game was called off, and the other Sheffield Shield matches played across the country, Brisbane and Melbourne, on the same day, were also abandoned after the day's play. Cricket Australia released an official statement, “Given how players across the country are feeling right now, it's just not the day to be playing cricket.”
On 27 November, he was pronounced dead at the age of 25. The whole cricket fraternity in Australia and the world was numb. Pictures of Australian cricketers and family members of Phillip Hughes carrying his body still hurts the fans and cricketers even today.