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Cricketer reunites with CPR 'angel' who saved him

PA Media A smiling man dressed in cricket whites is stood next to a smiling woman in a blue shirt at a cricket groundPA Media
Muhammad Akhtar Hussain was kept alive by CPR efforts from Laura Anderson

A cricketer who survived a cardiac arrest has hailed the woman who helped keep him alive with CPR as "a real angel" after they reunited on the pitch where he collapsed.

Muhammad Akhtar Hussain, 40, from Luton, was feeling unwell with shoulder pain while playing for Bushey Cricket Club at the Chipperfield Clarendon Cricket Club in Hertfordshire on 3 May 2025.

During a break, the bowler collapsed, and nearby Laura Anderson gave him CPR for 29 minutes until paramedics arrived.

The pair reunited on the same pitch about a year later, where Hussain said he got "very emotional" and Anderson said she would "cherish forever" the hug they shared.

PA Media Muhammad Akhtar Hussain is smiling with his family. He is holding a small girl in his arms and his wife is stood next to himPA Media
Hussain said he was thankful to still be alive for his wife, Tasmia Jahan, and his daughter, Madinah Hussain MadIha

During the incident, Anderson said Hussain stopped breathing and had to be resuscitated multiple times.

The travel planner from Hemel Hempstead trained as a St John Ambulance volunteer after her father died from diabetes complications in July 2014.

She later became a first aider at Chipperfield Clarendon Cricket Club where her father had been an umpire.

On the day of the incident, she had been dropping off letters when she noticed that Hussain needed urgent attention.

He was transported to Watford General Hospital, where he spent seven days and made a full recovery.

PA Media A woman wearing a cricket top is smiling with framed photos behind herPA Media
Anderson became a first aider at Chipperfield Clarendon Cricket Club where her father, Dave Anderson, had been an umpire.

After their reunion, the father said: "There are no real words I can say to Laura except 'thank you'.

"She's a real angel… and I think she was sent by God."

Laura added: "I think we need more defibs…. And everybody should know how to use them.

"I want it to be mandatory in schools, but everybody should learn how to do CPR and know basic life-saving skills."

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