Perth cricket umpire suffers gruesome injury during third-grade WASTCA match

A senior cricket umpire has spent the night in hospital after he was hit in the face by a ball accidentally struck at him by a batter.

Tony DeNobrega was officiating a third-grade WA Suburban Turf Cricket Association (WASTCA) match at Charles Veryard Reserve in North Perth on Saturday when he copped the “brutal blow”.

“A straight drive out of the screws hit Tony flush in the side of the face,” the umpires association shared on Facebook.

“Spending the night in hospital, Tony was fortunate enough not to have had any broken bones however the doctors are keeping him in under observation as surgery is not out of the question.”

A picture shared with the post showed severe swelling of DeNobrega’s face, including his eye and lips.

The association wished DeNobrega a “fast recovery from this terrible incident” and was hopeful the senior umpire would be “up and about shortly”.

“The umpiring team is right behind you, mate,” the post said.

There were dozens of comments wishing DeNobrega a speedy recovery, while one argued “helmets must be supplied for all the umpires”.

“The game has evolved a lot so PPE (personal protective equipment) is a must for umpires,” they said.

DeNobrega is not the first umpire to be seriously injured while officiating a game of cricket.

Long-serving umpire John Williams, 80, died after being hit in the head by a ball during an amateur match in Wales in 2019.

Williams was flown to hospital with a serious head injury and never recovered.

Australian umpire John Ward was hit in the head while officiating in India’s domestic competition, the Ranji Trophy in 2015.

He was taken to hospital with concussion and wore a helmet when he officiated a match between Australia and India at Manuka Oval the following year.

Current Australian domestic umpire Gerard Abood has worn a batting helmet while umpiring in the Big Bash League for years now.