Star cricketer clings to life after training collapse
Officials have praised the life-saving efforts of a trio who leaped to the aid of a star cricket player after he collapsed at training on the Sunshine Coast, performing CPR on him for 15 minutes before help arrived.
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SUNSHINE Coast Cricket officials have praised the life saving efforts of those who leaped to the aid of star player Alecz Day following a collapse at training.
The 29-year-old was rushed into intensive care at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital and placed in an induced coma on Thursday night after he fell to the ground and stopped breathing following warm up drills at Maroochydore Cricket Club.
Players Ash Renouf and John Turnbull along with coach Ashley Holznagel performed CPR on Day for nearly 15 minutes before an ambulance arrived with a defibrillator to jump start his heart.
Emergency treatment was undergone to stabilise his condition with examination revealing a clot in Day's coronary artery.
While Day is still in intensive care, if not for the efforts of those at his side during the emergency, Sunshine Coast Cricket Association life member and media office Pat Drew believes things could have ended up much worse.
"Ash Renouf is a policeman, Ash Holznagel is an Energex lineman and John Turnbull is an exercise physiologist," Drew said.
"They were there immediately with him and just sprung into action straight away.
"He'd stopped breathing so they turned him on his side and cleared his airways and began to do CPR and they kept the CPR up while at the same time people were calling Triple 0 and they did that until the ambulance came.
"It's so fortunate that there was three experienced people as those actually there.
"I say it would (have saved Day's life), people just do not respond spontaneously after the heart stops, and so without that treatment that would've been it."
SCCA president John Hope reiterated Drew's thoughts on the trio who performed CPR.
"They (Renouf, Turnbull and Holznagel) were first at the scene and pretty much saved his life," Hope said.
"Without them I don't think we would have Day with us now.
"So, all the praise needs to go to those boys.
"We're so fortunate they were there and were suitably qualified in (first aid) through their professions."
Drew said it had been a traumatic experience for the club, with both the First Division, Second Division and women's Scorchers all there at the time of Day's collapse.
Drew said Day's parents were both overseas at the time of the incident too, with his mum on holiday in New Zealand and his father on holiday in Italy.
Day's mum has since flown back and is by Day's side while his father is catching the first flight available back to the region.
SCCA president Hope said the club's thoughts were with the family and playing group with counselling services on offer by Queensland Cricket and Cricket Australia to those who witnessed the emergency.
The Scorchers' scheduled Queensland Premier Cricket fixtures this weekend are now up in the air.
"The players are really upset and the last thing they feel like doing is playing tomorrow," Drew said.
"A decision will be made by this afternoon."
Originally published as Star cricketer clings to life after training collapse