Israeli Umpire Dies After Ball Strikes His Head

Jerusalem: An umpire standing in an Israeli league cricket match in the city of Ashdod was killed after being struck by a ball on Saturday, Israeli police and a hospital spokeswoman said.

The umpire, named as Hillel Oscar, 58, died of a catastrophic head wound, said Ayelet Keidar, a spokeswoman for Barzilai Hospital in the Mediterranean coastal town of Ashkelon near Ashdod where Oscar was rushed by ambulance.

Oscar, standing at the bowler's end, was hit when the ball ricocheted off the stumps and hit him in the neck from a shot that came straight back down the pitch, Avital Felix of the Ashdod Cricket Trust told the YNet web site.

He said the players attempted to revive Oscar after he fell to the ground and the ambulance crew that arrived soon afterwards had worked for an hour at the scene before he was taken to hospital and was subsequently declared dead.

Police said there was no suspicion of foul play but Sports Minister Limor Livnat had called for an inquiry.

Oscar's wife, Jenny, told YNet that the incident had occurred moments after a minute's silence for Australia batsman Phillip Hughes, who died in hospital on Thursday after being struck by a ball during a domestic first-class match in Sydney.

Cricket is not a professional sport in Israel but Ashdod is one of the main centres, where a large number of Jewish immigrants from India live. The fixture between Young Ashdod and Lions Lod was being played on the last day of the season.