Scott Robert Mason (27 July 1976 – 9 April 2005) was an Australian

cricketer Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

who played first-class

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

for

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. He was a left-handed batsman who averaged 27.21 with the bat in 28 first-class games and 9.42 with the bat in 8 one-day domestic games. In first-class cricket he scored 1252 runs with two centuries and five half-centuries with a highest score of 174. In one-day domestic cricket he scored just 66 runs with a highest score of 16. In 2003–04 season he scored 126 against WA.

Death

Mason was feeling sluggish during pre-season training in August 2004. He discovered he had a heart condition and underwent open heart surgery to have a new valve inserted. This meant he missed the 2004–05 season. On 7 April 2005 Scott Mason suffered a heart-attack while batting in the nets for Tasmania. Two days later he was officially declared dead in the

Royal Hobart Hospital The Royal Hobart Hospital is a public hospital in the Hobart CBD, Tasmania, Australia. The hospital also functions as a teaching hospital in co-operation with the University of Tasmania. The hospital's research facilities are known as the Roy ...

. He was 28.

Legacy

Former Tasmanian captain

Jamie Cox Jamie Cox (born 15 October 1969) is an Australian cricketer and former opening batsman for Tasmania in Australia's domestic competitions. He then played county cricket in England where he captained Somerset. He is a former member of the Cricke ...

paid tribute to Mason:

It is just tragic and ironic that a guy whose heart was metaphorically so big and a man who was so courageous that it was the thing in the end that cost him his life. A likeable guy, competitive and inspirational, and one of our true team leaders, and we missed him on the field enormously this season, undoubtedly on the field, but nowhere near as much as we will miss him now. He was such a natural leader and so much so, he may have been a future Tasmanian captain. His career was just about to take off when he was struck down last year."... He was a guy who was as tough as possible, and took his last breath with his bat in his hand, like a warrior. He touched a lot of people in his life, he was a really determined little bugger who never gave in but unfortunately this battle was too much for him.

Mason's life is commemorated by an annual Sheffield Shield game in Hobart between Tasmania and Victoria, the Scott Mason Memorial.

References

External links

*
Cricketer dies of heart defect
(The Age) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Scott 1976 births 2005 deaths Australian cricketers Cricketers from Launceston, Tasmania Tasmania cricketers Accidental deaths in Tasmania Cricket deaths Sport deaths in Australia