Updated on
Summary David White says Crowes courage and determination will serve him well in battling disease.
“Not only was he probably our greatest ever batsman, he was probably the most courageous and determined batsman ever to play for New Zealand,” White said while speaking to TV ONEs Breakfast. “His determination is never in question.“Our thoughts and feelings are with him and his family and we wish him all the best for his recovery,” White added.Earlier this week Crowe’s manager Louise Henderson revealed that the 50-year-old former batsman had been diagnosed with lymphoma, a type of cancer that targets immune system cells called lymphocytes.While the announcement did not reveal details regarding the severity of the disease, or the stage at which the cancer has been diagnosed, Henderson stated that diagnosis was recent and the family, subsequently, was in shock.“Understandably the family have a number of issues to confront over the next couple of weeks, the diagnosis is very new, the family is still in shock and obviously dealing with the understanding that life as they know it for the unforeseeable future is different,” Henderson said.Crowe was among the Black Caps most prolific batsmen, and made his debut for the national side in 1982. Paired with Richard Hadlee, the right-hander formed the crux of a considerably successful New Zealand outfit during the 1980s.Crowe went on to play a total of 77 Tests (with 5444 runs to his credit), and 143 ODIs (4704 runs) for the national team, and his 17 centuries in Tests are still a New Zealand record.However, fitness issues (a bad knee) saw him calling time on his career in 1995.He took up a position as commentator with Sky in New Zealand, and also attempted a comeback to domestic cricket last year, in a bid to reach the milestone of 20,000 first-class runs – however, his attempts were foiled by a thigh muscle strain.Crowe’s recent cancer diagnosis sees him joining a list of cricketers who have had brushes with the deadly disease, including, among others, South African batsman Dave Callaghan, current England coach and former Zimbabwe skipper Andy Flower, England’s batting great Sir Geoff Boycott, and most recently Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh.Test your Cricket knowledge by placing free betting on cricket matches. Get most accurate Cricket betting odds and picks for successful betting.
