By Jocelyn Cookday.

CRAWLEY Down cricketers watched in horror as an opposition player collapsed and died in the middle of a match.

The players have been praised for the immediate aid they gave Dave "Chalky" White, 62, the president of the Worthing Chippingdale Cricket Club - when he collapsed while batting in a friendly at the Sandy Lane cricket ground on Sunday.

Despite the "fantastic" care the well-known and respected cricketer received at the scene,there was nothing anybody could do to keep him alive.

The tragedy comes just a week after the Crawley Down Cricket Club (CDCC) celebrated its 150th birthday Dave Luxford, from CDCC, described the incident as "very traumatic" and expressed the club's sadness about Mr White's death.

He told the News he would be writing a letter of condolence to the Worthing Chippingdale Cricket Club, known as the Chipps, in the next few days.