Umpire dies before club game

An umpire collapsed and died shortly before he was due to stand in a club match in Wales on Saturday. The South Wales League match between Cefn Forest and Brecon was about to start when Fred Sinclair, 52, collapsed with a suspected heart attack.

The game was abandoned as a mark of respect, and a minute's silence will be held at all the league's matches next week.

Tony Hallett, the chairman of the South Wales Cricket League, told the BBC: "It happened in the pavilion minutes before everyone was due to go onto the field at Cefn Forest. The people from Cefn Forest and Brecon worked hard to keep him going - they made magnificent efforts, but to no avail."

According to Hallett, Mr Sinclair, who was from Mountain Ash, was one of the league's leading umpires: "I counted him as a friend and he was a good, well-respected umpire. He always officiated with a smile on his face. The cricket fraternity in South Wales has been shocked by his death and our sympathies go out to his family."