Tributes pour in for tragic Halesowen cricketer Richard Beaumont (From Halesowen News)

Tributes pour in for tragic Halesowen cricketer Richard Beaumont

8:00am Thursday 9th August 2012 in News

A HALESOWEN cricketer's devastated father has told of the moment his son’s life ended playing the sport he loved.

Richard Beaumont collapsed while fielding during a match between Pedmore
Cricket Club's first team and Astwood Bank CC on Saturday, August 4.
 

The 33-year-old’s father, Bob Beaumont, was just yards away watching
the game, at the Pedmore club’s ground on Pedmore Hall Lane, when
the popular player suffered a suspected cardiac arrest.
 

Mr Beaumont, aged 66, said: “He came over to field and I gave him a
drink, he stepped away and said ‘Dad I'm going to faint’ and he went down.
“Hewas put in the recovery position but I believe he was dead within minutes, they put him in an air ambulance but I knew he was dead.”
 

Players looked on in horror as medics fought to save theirteam-mate
but he was pronounced dead minutes after arriving at Birmingham’s
Queen Elizabeth hospital.
 

Pedmore CC’s first team captain, Stuart Bate, said: “It was a harrowing
thing to witness, we are completely devastated and our thoughts and
prayers are with his family.
 

“He was a popular character who loved the game and the game loved
him,hedied playing the sport he loved most.”
 

Ironically, the all-rounder, who previously played for Romsley and Hunnington, had just completed his best spell of pace bowling for years.
The last of his five-wickets in Saturday’s game came with a catch taken
by his life-long friend Paul Pickering.

Mr Pickering said: “He was always there for everybody andwould always
help someone if he could.
 

“He was the biggest character in the dressing room and the life and soul of
the party. He was the main man and will be very sorely missed.”
 

A small remembrance garden now marks the spot where Richard collapsed.
The care worker, from Bromsgrove Street, had been married to Becky for
just 15 months and the former police officer had a four-year-old son from a
previous relationship.

Bob Beaumont is already planning to set up a charity to help young cricketers in Richard’s memory and he takes comfort from being close to his
son as the tragedy unfolded.
 

He said: “Iam grateful it’s my words he would have heard last of all.
“Richard was full of fun and loved sport, he was a go-to guy, somebody
you could rely on. I never realised he was so popular.”
 

He added: “We are all in bits, things will never be the same but he will
never be forgotten.”