Cricket fan and cabinet member for transport and the environment, Councillor Majid Mahmood, accidentally struck a ball into a watching group of dignitaries at the launch of a four-lane cricket nets facility at Sparkhill Park
A distraught Birmingham city councillor ‘knocked out’ a bystander during the official opening of new cricket facilities at a Birmingham park today.
Cricket fan and cabinet member for transport and the environment, Councillor Majid Mahmood, accidentally struck a ball into a watching group of dignitaries at the launch of a four-lane cricket nets facility at Sparkhill Park.
The ball travelled beyond the nets into a crowd of bystanders, striking one woman on the back of the head. She went down and required urgent first aid as a result. Eyewitnesses said she was briefly unconscious as a result of the blow.
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The new facilities were funded by a grant of nearly £200,000 for Birmingham City Council to be spent on two sites – Sparkhill Park and Small Heath Park.
The work at Sparkhill Park involved the installation of a four-lane cricket practice facility, featuring ball stop nets and non-turf pitches within the park.
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The group of onlookers included fellow city councillors and local representatives of charities and businesses.
One eyewitness, Jagdeep Singh, said he believed better health and safety measures ought to have been in place and it was a ‘reckless’ act. Another said: “There did not appear to be any safety protocols in place, which was really bad.”
Councillor Mahmood said of the incident: “I am sincerely sorry for this accident and I am grateful to everyone there today who helped to make sure she was okay, particularly the first aiders from the leisure centre. I want to reiterate my apologies once again and I will be reaching out directly to her to personally apologise.”
We understand first aid was administered at the scene and the injured woman was later checked over by medics at hospital as a precaution but did not require an ambulance.
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