Meet Keegan Meth, who was just named "South African Airways Bowler of the Year" this week. Back in August, he was bowling for Zimbabwe in its cricket match versus Bangladesh when batsman Nasir Hossain's ball hit him square in the face.
Of particular interest in this Theismanny harsh video is 1:07, when they go super slo-mo on the teeth flying out of his mouth. (Apologies if you've seen this before, but hell, it's compelling enough to post late).
Among the more notable comments from the booth are "Blood everywhere. Unfortunately, sometimes, this happens on the cricket field," and "Yeah. Pity."
The injury caused him to drip so much blood onto the pitch, the umpires had to ask for him to be removed from the field as a matter of urgency. It took 18 stitches to sew him back together that afternoon but Meth was back at the ground in time to bat, and would have, had he not been advised to stay off the park. For five days after that, he could not eat, and he lost nine kilograms as a result. His team-mates did not expect to see him back on the field for at least three months.
The thought of spending that much time out of the game was unthinkable for Meth, who was back in training two weeks after the incident.
Keegan Meth lost teeth by straight drive (Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe 5th ODI 2011) [YouTube]
No teeth, no problem [ESPN Cricinfo]
Keegan Meth was named the South African Airways Bowler of the Year [The Zimbabwean]