Ailing from lymphoma, New Zealand legend and former skipper Martin Crowe on Saturday said the cricket World Cup final on Sunday could be the last cricket match he watches.
The 52-year-old, who will be at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the New Zealand vs Australia final, is battling cancer after he was diagnosed with lymphoma in September 2014.
“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,” Crowe was quoted as saying by The New Zealand Herald .
The former right-handed batsman also paid a touching tribute to two particular members of the Black Caps squad, declaring Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill as “the two sons I never had”.
“To see the two sons I never had, Ross Taylor and Marty Guptill, run out in black, in sync with their close comrades, drawing on all their resolve and resilience, will be mesmerically satisfying,” said the former skipper, who led New Zealand in the 1992 World Cup.
The former Kiwi top-order batsman said he would be holding back tears all day while watching Sunday’s final showdown.
“I will hold back tears all day long. I will gasp for air on occasions. I will feel like a nervous parent. Whatever happens, March 29 at the MCG will be the most divine fun ever,” Crowe said.
The Auckland-born returned to Eden Park when he was inducted into International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Hall of Fame on February 26 during the Australia-New Zealand Pool A game.
He said the World Cup final represented 40 years of Kiwi cricket.
“It has been a team effort, going back to 1975, and it will remain one. I will be there to share my gratitude at seeing a baton carried with such brilliance and daring,” Crowe said.
“Without question, this will be the personal cricketing highlight of my life and I sense for New Zealand too. If New Zealand win, for the very first time they will step out of the All Blacks’ shadows. That is arguably the greatest feat of all.”
All Blacks is New Zealand’s national rugby team.
