NEWS of a death on the cricket field invites repercussions, especially in an era hell-bent on making the world a safer place. And bad luck is something that some blame lawyers seem unable fathom.

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Yet the death of Alcwyn Jenkins during a club match at Swansea on Saturday does strike a chord with me. It has been suggested that the health and safety issue might one day require umpires to wear protective helmets. That would be ridiculous, but it is positioning in the field that could be reconsidered.

The ball was struck into the off side field, and Mr Jenkins, 72, the bowler's umpire, moved to the correct position on the off side to adjudicate any run-out attempt. He was apparently struck a terrible blow on the side of the head by the fielder's throw. For such an accident to cause fatality is very very rare, but on the other hand an umpire is extremely vulnerable to throwing accuracy as he cannot always turn his head to watch the fielder as he releases the ball.

The only reason why an umpire should not move to the safer, far side of the stumps would be to give himself a clear sight of the stumps and gauge more accurately whether the player at the stumps breaks the wicket lawfully. That, again, is a rare dispute, so perhaps an umpire's text book positioning does not warrant the risk.

I have seen crouching umpires hit on fleshy parts by wayward throws, and I have been nearly hit myself while umpiring. In fact near misses might be quite frequent. When the ball is hit into the ring and a run is attempted, I think the umpire should retreat to the safer side in club matches, knowing a direct hit would be easy enough to adjudicate.

Mr Jenkins, a vastly experienced and well respected umpire, was officiating at a South Wales Cricket Association league match between Swansea and Llangennech at the St Helen's ground. The game was abandoned.