Cricketer in Bangladesh beaten to death with stump

A teenage cricketer in Bangladesh was allegedly killed by a stump-wielding batsman after he taunted the umpire over a no-ball delivery, police said today.

Sixteen-year-old Babul Shikdar was wicketkeeping during a neighbourhood match with friends in the capital Dhaka yesterday when the batsman was given out, local police chief Bhuiyan Mahboob Hasan said.

Shikdar suggested that the umpire might again favour the batsman, by declaring the bowler's delivery a no-ball, allowing him to remain at the crease, after the umpire made the same ruling off the previous ball.

"It enraged the batsman who picked up a stump and hit Shikdar on the back of his head. He collapsed on the field and died on the way to a clinic," Hasan told AFP.
 

Police were now searching for the batsman who fled the scene, he said.

Cricket is the most popular sport in the South Asian nation with millions of people playing the game at every level.