London, June 19: Tom Maynard, the Surrey and England Lions batsman, has died aged 23. His body was found dead on the rails near Wimbledon Park tube station in south London around dawn on Monday morning; police say the incident is currently being treated as non-suspicious.
It was reported that Maynard had been pulled over by police while "driving erratically," less than an hour before his death. Metropolitan Police said that he had abandoned his black Mercedes and fled the scene.
A police statement said: "At approx 4.15am on Monday, officers stopped a vehicle after it was seen being driven erratically in Arthur Road, SW19. The male driver of the vehicle - a black Mercedes C250 - made off on foot. Officers were unable to locate the man. At approx 5.10am the body of a man fitting the same description was found on tracks near Wimbledon Park station."
British Transport Police officers were called to the line near Wimbledon Park London Underground station. A BTP statement said: "The incident was reported to BTP at 5.03am and was also attended by Metropolitan Police officers. London Ambulance Service medics attended but the man, believed to be 23 years old, was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is currently being treated as non-suspicious."
It is believed that the driver on an early morning District Line train alerted the authorities after he witnessed a body on the track but was unable to stop.
As well as a Coroner's Report into Maynard's death, the Independent Police Complaints Commission is expected to receive a routine report on the circumstances, as it occured shortly after the involvement of police officers.
The news was broken to shocked England players as they arrived at Maynard's home ground of The Oval, where the flags were flying at half-mast ahead of the second ODI against West Indies on Tuesday.
A Surrey statement said: "Maynard was an incredibly talented young batsman. His future potential was unlimited, with experts both inside and outside the club predicting he would soon follow in the footsteps of his father Matthew by graduating to full England honours."
Surrey have postponed their Friends Life t20 game against the Hampshire Royals at the Oval on Wednesday, but England's ODI is expected to go ahead.
Tom Maynard was the son of Matthew Maynard, the former Glamorgan batsman who played Test and one-day cricket for England. Tom Maynard was regarded as one of the brightest talents in the game, a destructive middle-order batsman who was perfectly suited to Surrey's enterprising style of cricket. He had played in Surrey's FLt20 defeat by Kent at Beckenham on Sunday.
He left Glamorgan following the removal of his father as director of cricket in November 2010 and joined Surrey where Rory Hamilton-Brown, a former Millfield schoolmate, had been appointed the youngest captain in the country.
Tom Maynard was found on the line near Wimbledon Park tube station © Alex Winter
Tragedy has struck Surrey for the third time in 16 years. Ben Hollioake, an England allrounder of rich promise, was killed in a car crash in Australia in 2002 after driving back late at night from a family meal. Hollioake, 24, died instantly when his black Porsche 924 came off the road on a ramp in the early hours of the morning in Perth, Western Australia.
England's cricketers, who were contesting the second Test in Wellington, New Zealand, when hearing of Hollioake's death requested that the England flag be lowered to half-mast and wore black armbands.
Nearly six years earlier, on New Year's Day 1997, Graham Kersey, the county's wicketkeeper, died in a car accident near Brisbane. Adam Hollioake, Ben's brother and the Surrey captain at the time, dedicated their Benson and Hedges final success the following summer to the player.
From Australia, Adam Hollioake's tweet must have spoken for many when he wrote: "Wot is going on at Surrey? R we cursed or something? Graham Kersey, my bro, now this.... Treasure every moment with loved ones x."
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