The suicide of cricketing legend David Bairstow is just one of a worrying number of deaths in the game highlighted in a new book.

More than 100 cricketers - including Bradford-born Bairstow - have taken their own lives over the past century.

Author David Frith, in his book Silence of the Heart, uncovers the tragic trend in suicides among cricketers.

Bairstow was found hanged at his home in Marton-Cum-Grafton, in North Yorkshire in January 1998.

A decline in health, financial problems, an ill wife and an overhanging drink driving charge have all been cited as possible reasons for the suicide.

Mr Frith said: "I think that the lack of cricket for 'Bluey' was certainly one of the key factors in his demise.

"He also had a bad relationship with Yorkshire Cricket Club close to his death. He had protested about the closure of Headingley and told the club in typical fashion what he thought and was banned from the ground."

His book examines the circumstances surrounding deaths such as Bairstow's and features interviews with people who knew the dead men, giving an insight into their personalities

David Warner, the Telegraph & Argus' cricket correspondent, was a close friend of Bairstow's.

"He was a good friend, a great companion, and an enthusiastic captain. It was all such a tragedy when he died in those circumstances," he said.

John White, who was chairman at Undercliffe Cricket Club where Bairstow played for a time after his retirement from first class cricket, remembers playing with "Bluey" as a youngster at the same club.

"I remember David was on 94 and I came in as tenth man. He told me to stay in and let him get a century but I slogged the ball and was caught. I got a right rollocking but Dave reached his century so he let me off!"

Frith's findings pose the question of whether the sport attracts vulnerable sportsmen or whether the game itself has an effect which can lead players to take their own lives.

His findings show that English cricketers are almost twice as likely to commit suicide than the average male. Sussex and Somerset cricket teams have the highest suicide rates in the country according to the statistics.

Of the suicides in the 80s and 90s, of which there have been almost 50, Bairstow is still the player missed most by the Bradford and Yorkshire public.

"No-one as significant as David Bairstow has committed suicide in recent years," said David Warner. "He is so fresh in the mind and is missed greatly as a friend."