English player triumphs after tragedy

Just over a year ago, in the days leading up to start of the English county season, the life of Derbyshire wicketkeeper Tom Poynton changed forever in one cruel and fatal instant.

Poynton, then 24, was in the passenger seat when the Ferrari sports car driven by his dad Keith crashed into a tree. His 57-year-old father was killed instantly, while Tom was rushed to hospital with serious leg injuries, his life irreparably damaged and his future as a cricketer in doubt.

Twelve months later, Poynton is not only playing cricket again - a situation that was far from certain after his accident - he's thriving.

Having missed the entirety of the 2014 season due to his injuries, Poynton made his return for Derbyshire's Second XI in their match against Northants this week, scoring a brilliant century that included 19 fours and a six.

It's a remarkable turnaround for the 25-year-old, who needed surgery after the accident to repair his shattered ankle and stimulate the growth of new cartilage.

While consumed with grief at the loss of his father, and weighed down physically by his injuries, Poynton showed remarkable resilience last year and remained intrinsically involved with his cricket club.

He was given a role with Derbyshire's commercial and marketing department, while he also pursued business interests and worked with the company of which his father was a former director.

"I can't even think about the period of time after the crash," Poynton told BBC Sport.

"It's a very surreal experience when you go through a tragedy and trauma to that extent.

"It's a little bit dreamy and then you realise the repercussions and significance of what has happened thereafter. You've got to live with that forever.

"The most difficult time is when you have no stimulus around you and you are alone with your own thoughts, lying there in bed with the darkness.

"You never get over it but you find a way to cope with it. I just don't believe in being anything other than an optimist.

"You've got to look for things to move on and be positive with in life.

"That's what my dad would have wanted me to do and that's why I've pushed myself into every experience I could do while I've not been playing.

"I've gained hugely from that, not just as a person, but in the fact that I've made positive use of probably the harshest time I'm ever going to have in my life."

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Poynton celebrates a wicket during a match in 2013 // Getty Images

Earlier this month, a week after the one-year anniversary of the accident and two months since an inquest into his father's death, Poynton was offered a one-year contract extension to keep him at Derbyshire until at least the end of the 2016 season.

Having recovered from his injuries, Poynton is now able to resume a cricket career that first showed promise at county level in 2012, when he established himself as Derbyshire's first-choice wicketkeeper and scored his maiden first-class century.

But Poynton says his experiences have given him a valuable perspective on the game, a lesson he's determined to pass on to fellow players.

"Cricket is a chapter of your life," he says.

"It's difficult to get that perspective. For me it hit me in the face and dropped right on my doorstep.

"On 3 April, everything was hunky-dory. On 4 April, I had lost my father and had a career-threatening, potentially life-threatening, injury.

"The margins are that small. You feel immortal and invincible at a young age.

"But it's frightening just how fragile things can be and the earlier you can stimulate that learning the easier it is."