Published: Mar 28, 2015, 11:32 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 28, 2015, 11:32 AM (IST)
He was one of best batsman that New Zealand produced and as a former captain, the current performance of the side has made him immensely proud. Why not? Martin Crowe brought New Zealand very close to the World Cup title in 1992. They played the most exciting cricket throughout the competition and their great run was halted by Pakistan in the semis. Crowe would be one of the happiest men if Brendon McCullum’s men win the cup, something his men couldn’t in 1992.
Crowe has been terminally ill and said that Sunday’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 final between his beloved New Zealand and Australia could be the last game he’ll ever see. Crowe, 52, has been battling a rare blood disease, double-hit lymphoma.
In his column for Espncricinfo, Crowe wrote: “My precarious life ahead may not afford me the luxury of many more games to watch and enjoy. So this is likely to be it. The last, maybe, and I can happily live with that. I will hold back tears all day long. I will gasp for air on occasions. I will feel like a nervous parent.”
Crowe has played 77 Tests for New Zealand and averaged 45.36. Until last year, he held the record for highest score by a New Zealander. His 299 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington was broken by current captain McCullum, when at the same venue he smashed 302 against India. Crowe now hopes McCullum to lift the World Cup at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday.
“I will, like so many Kiwis making the short trek across the Tasman, feel this, as McCullum has stated clearly, to be the greatest cricketing time of our lives. Four million dare to believe, while 11 (and back up) dare to achieve,” added Crowe, who suffered relapse of cancer.
