Maynard family seek privacy after ‘devastating’ blow
The family of Tom Maynard asked for privacy on Tuesday following the
“devastating blow” they'd suffered after the death of one of English
cricket's most promising batsmen at the age of just 23.
Maynard, the son of former Glamorgan and England batsman Matthew
Maynard, was killed after being hit by a London Underground train early
on Monday morning, the day after playing for Surrey in a 40-over match
against Kent.
In a statement issued through the British Transport Police (BTP), his
family said: “The Maynard family would like to thank everyone for the
many messages of support following Tom's tragic death in London
yesterday (Monday) morning.
“As you can appreciate, the news has come as a devastating blow and
although the family is grateful for all the kind messages of sympathy,
we would ask that we can be left to grieve in private at this very
difficult and sad time for us.”
Maynard's Surrey team-mate Kevin Pietersen was among several England
players who posted their condolences on Twitter on Monday.
“So unbelievably sad!! The Maynard family is so special!! Thoughts
are with this special family!! Loads of love guys!! KP xxx RIPTom”.
Tom Maynard had only been with Surrey for 18 months after joining
from Glamorgan when the Welsh county sacked his father as their coach.
Former England wicket-keeper batsman Alec Stewart was convinced Tom,
a batsman for the England Lions, the national A team, could have gone on
to the senior side, arguing decent career statistics of 2,384 runs in 48
first-class matches at 32.65 with four hundreds did not reflect the
depth of his talent.
“I remember meeting Tom a few years ago during a holiday in Dubai
when he and his father Matt Maynard -- a good friend of mine from our
England days -- happened to be staying at the same hotel,” Stewart told
the BBC.
“Tom must have been about 17, but he was putting in the hard yards in
the gym. Even back then, he knew where he wanted to go and that may well
have been to the very top.” Stewart, who spent his entire career with
Surrey, said it was hard to put into words the “sense of loss” pervading
the club.
“He is the third cricketer we have lost in 15 years after Graham
Kersey and Ben Hollioake were killed in car accidents in Australia, and
everyone is feeling horribly numb and empty.” Mystery surrounded the
closing moments of Maynard's life after Scotland Yard said he'd had run
away when stopped while driving “erratically” near Wimbledon Park
station, close to where he was eventually killed in an incident the BTP
said Monday was being treated as “non-suspicious”.
A minute's silence in memory of Maynard was held before the start of
the second one-day international between England and the West Indies at
The Oval, Surrey's headquarters ground in south London, with the England
players wearing black armbands as a mark of respect.
On Monday, Surrey announced the postponement of their Twenty20 match
against Hampshire, scheduled to be played at The Oval on Wednesday.
Glamorgan followed suit Tuesday by saying their Twenty20 match
against Worcestershire in Cardiff, also due to be played Wednesday, had
been postponed until July 3.
LONDON AFP
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