Perth cricket umpire Tony DeNobrega presented with helmet on WASTCA return, two months after freak injury

A veteran cricket umpire left unrecognisable by a freak on-field accident says he feels a “great sense of relief” to have put his return in the book.

Tony DeNobrega, 64, donned a helmet while taking his place at the non-striker’s end at Jones Paskin Reserve in Balcatta, Perth on Saturday afternoon, two months after he was struck in the face by a cricket ball.

He was not wearing the protective equipment when hurt in November.

“I was a bit of a nervous wreck, a bit hesitant,” he told 7NEWS.com.au about the early stages of the weekend’s third-grade, one-day game.

“You are wary but as the game went on and the ball became softer, I became more comfortable.

“A couple of the guys were hitting the ball hard and I did wonder - could it happen again?”

The Christmas break and the WA Suburban Turf Cricket Association’s (WASTCA) welfare protocols meant DeNobrega had to wait until the round nine match on January 18 to make his comeback.

He was gifted the helmet during a small ceremony that preceded Balcatta’s four-wicket win over North Perth.

He umpired a few steps further back than his usual position, especially when some of the middle and lower-order batters began blasting the ball over the rope.

“(Wearing the helmet is) an adjustment in the sense it is hot, there is no breeze and there’s a grill in front of your eyes,” he said.

“But you get used to it.”

In a twist of fate, his umpiring comeback was meant to involve the North Perth cricketer that accidentally landed him in hospital - but DeNobrega said he was a late withdrawal.

The umpire’s story made global headlines when he was struck just below the cheekbone while officiating a WASTCA match on November 16.

DeNobrega, who has officiated the game for 12 years, lost sight of the ball during the bowler’s follow-through and did not have enough time to get out of the way as it was driven in his direction.

He blacked out on Charles Veryard Reserve for several seconds and spent two nights in hospital with severe bruising and swelling.

He avoided broken bones but doctors said that if the ball struck him any higher on his face he may have lost an eye.

He also narrowly avoided surgery to drain the significant swelling from his face that doctors feared could impact his breathing.

Some swelling remains, and it could take another two months for it to completely subside, he has been told.

It is also unclear if he will ever regain all the feeling in his cheek, but the umpire said he feels “lucky”

“When I look back, it could have been much worse,” he said.

“We’re trained to move, to anticipate. If I was static it would have hit me straight on the nose.”

DeNobrega said he is a “big believer” in protective equipment for umpires, given how the game has evolved to the point where even amateurs with thick bats hit so cleanly.

“The issue is people think cricket is slow and a gentle game but ... you have to have your wits about you (as an umpire),” he said.

WASTCA chairman Brad Pearce said it was great to have DeNobrega back.

“He was very positive and really appreciated the support from the board and umpiring fraternity,” Pearce told 7NEWS.com.au.

Pearce said plenty of players had reached out to check on DeNobrega and wish him well, which is a testament to his standing in the game at this level.

He said there had been genuine interest from umpires wanting to wear helmets after the league secured funding to offset most of the costs for them.

Pearce was pleased to see several umpires using them, if they feel they need to, because “safety is paramount”.