The sport of cricket has gained a lot of popularity in the last few years owing to ICC’s efforts to take the sport to new countries. Recently, the cricket universe saw how teams from Japan and Thailand made their presence in prominent ICC events. Although they could not win a match, the teams showed that the sport is growing in their areas.

Besides, recently, a cricket match was hosted in Nepal which attracted a lot of fans to the stadium. Speaking of cricket stadiums, the world’s largest cricket stadium, Motera will be inaugurated soon and it will host a day-night Test between England and India in 2021 and it is expected to be jam-packed for the much-anticipated encounter.

It is every fan’s dream to watch a cricket match live in the stadium at least once however, that dream turns into nightmare sometimes because, with the advent of T20 cricket, the chances of fans getting hit by the ball are very high.

Here are 5 instances when fans got injured in cricket:

1. Hamish Rutherford gives a life lesson to a fan

During a match between New Zealand and England in March 2013, Kiwi batsman Hamish Rutherford gave a life lesson to a spectator that he should always take note of what’s happening in the surroundings instead of just talking with his friends carelessly at a cricket stadium. The commentators on air tried to warn him but the ball hit him on his head.

The commentator said, “Look out, son!” when the ball was travelling in the air however, he continued to talk with his friends and eventually got hit by the ball. Such was his bad luck that it was the only six hit in that match.

It was later confirmed that the fan did not suffer a nasty injury but he was in pain for a long time. The commentator further described this incident and added, “Oh, it’s a Falcon! Oh, it’s a painful one too.”

2. David Miller takes away a police constable’s eyesight

IPL is one of the most popular leagues in the world however, an incident which happened during the IPL 2015 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab left everyone shocked. The Knight Riders were hosting Punjab at the Eden Gardens. As usual, there was a lot of security in the stadium to protect any mishaps.

Unfortunately, though, a police constable lost his eyesight after South African batsman, David Miller hit a six and the ball hit him straight on the right eye. The left-handed batsman felt so sorry about that incident and he tweeted out an apology to him. Miller wrote –

“The incident and its ramifications have been terrible. I wish this was not true – I am sorry for Mr Aich’s irreversible loss and wish him the best recovery possible.”

3. Chris Gayle breaks a girl’s nose

Another incident from the IPL to feature on this list is about the Universe Boss Chris Gayle breaking a girl’s nose. The little spectator was enjoying a game between Pune Warriors India and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The fan’s name was Tia and Gayle specially visited the hospital to have a look at her.

Following the incident, Gayle took a sigh of relief when he learnt that the girl was alright. He sent out a tweet regarding the same and wrote: “Her 1st word to me is to Chill, She’s fine!”

The Universe Boss’ innings had helped RCB win that match quite comfortably and he won the ‘Maximum Sixes’ award in that game. Gayle graciously handed over that medal to Tia, hoping for her speedy recovery.

4. Cameron White hits a spectator on his face

Australian batsman, Cameron White was a part of the Australian squad that visited India in the year 2010 to play an ODI series. The visitors locked horns with the Men in Blue at Visakhapatnam in the second one-day encounter. White played a quickfire knock of 89 runs in that game where he smashed six sixes.

While this innings took Australia to a decent total, one of White’s sixes hit a fan on his face. The fan was sitting in the first row and might have picked up a brutal injury. There were no major updates on his injury but India later went on to win that match. Unfortunately, the third ODI of the series could not produce a result as India wrapped up the 3-match series with the scoreline of 1-0.

5. David Warner’s six hits the shoulder of an Afghan boy

The 2015 World Cup is best remembered for the exploits of Brendon McCullum and Mitchell Starc. While the left-arm quick won the battle ultimately, there was one more player who played a major role in the success that Australia achieved.

That man was David Warner. The left-hander provided fiery starts to his team ensuring that the opposition bowlers get little time to settle. During a group match between Australia and Afghanistan, the left-handed batsman showed no mercy to the debutants as he played a memorable inning of 178 runs. Warner hit 19 fours and 5 sixes in that game.

However, one of his maximums hit a young Afghan fan on the shoulder. His father was busy on his phone when this incident happened. The boy was in tears as the medical staff assisted him. The Sunrisers Hyderabad player later visited him personally and gifted him a pair of gloves.