| Personal information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jasper Vinall | |||
| Born | 1590 England |
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| Died | 28 August 1624 Horsted Keynes, East Sussex, England |
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| Role | Village cricket player | |||
| Domestic team information | ||||
| Years | Team | |||
| c.1620-1624 | West Hoathly | |||
| Career statistics | ||||
| Source: [T J McCann], 20 June 2008 | ||||
Jasper Vinall (c. 1590 – 28 August 1624, Horsted Keynes, East Sussex) was the first cricketer known to have been killed while playing the game.
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The fatality occurred when Vinall, a fielder, was struck on the head by the batsman who was trying to hit the ball a second time to avoid being caught. Mr Vinall is thus the earliest recorded cricketing fatality. The matter was recorded in a coroner’s court, which returned a verdict of misadventure.[1]
An interesting point arising from the court record is that both Jasper Vinall and the batsman Edward Tye came from West Hoathly,[1] another village, which indicates that games involving teams from different parishes were already being played at this early time in the sport's history.[2]
The tragedy was repeated in 1647 when Henry Brand was killed at Selsey, West Sussex.[1]
When the first known Laws of cricket were coded in the 1744 season, it was illegal to hit the ball twice. It is not known when the measure was introduced.[3]