A Yorkshireman has been jailed for three years after a dispute in an amateur Sunday league cricket match that led to the umpire suffering a broken arm.
The Times, London, reported that in one of Britain's first recorded cases of cricket rage, Mahmood Akhtar attacked the umpire with a baseball bat after he thought he was the recipient of a dubious decision.
Akhtar, 38, is a shopkeeper from Leeds. He was batting in a local Sunday league match when he was sent back to the pavilion by Qadeer Hussain, the stand-in umpire. The York Crown Court was told that that the umpire's decision incensed the batsman.
Akhtar decided to wait until the next match before confronting Hussain.
Hussain, who regarded Akhtar as a friend, was on the field as his team's wicket-keeper when Akhtar and his brother Gulfam Zaqar, who was armed with a baseball bat, marched out to the wicket and demanded an explanation.
Even as players and spectators looked on in shock and horror, the brothers attacked Hussain. His arm was badly broken and the insertion of a metal plate was required.
The victim's nephew ran to his uncle's aid from the scorers' hut, but he was also attacked.
Akhtar was convicted of assault causing grievous bodily harm. His brother, who pleaded guilty to the same charge, will be sentenced at a later date.
