As the cricket world tries hard to get excited as theChampions League T20 unfolds in South Africa, news of Tony Greg being diagnosedwith lung cancer emerged out of Australia. It is one of the more unfortunatetruisms of cricket that along with form, cancer seems to be an occasionalcompanion of certain cricketers. Cancer has either restricted or killed severalnotable and not so notable cricketers through the ages.
India was shocked to learn that the world cup hero YuvrajSingh was diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphocytes. Yuvraj Singh fought and won the battle. Hereturned to play in the match against New Zealand and a month later bludgeonedhis way to 208 off 241 balls against Central Zone in a Duleep Trophy match thatwould have otherwise gone unnoticed.
Earlier this month it was revealed that New Zealand’sgreatest batsman, Martin Crowe was diagnosed with lymphoma. One of theshrewdest captains of his era, his mental strength should play a part in hisspeedy recovery.
We at The Goan went through our records and came up with alist of cricketers who were visited by the big C.
Simon O’Donnell - A member of the world cup winning squad of1987, he is possibly the first example of a cricketer making a successfulcomeback after a mid-career diagnosis of cancer.
Dave Callaghan - he was diagnosed with testicular cancer inSeptember 1991. He may be known as Warne’s bunny but he was a handy player. Hewas the first South African to go past 150.
Michael Clarke - In 2006 he was diagnosed with skin cancer.He now leads Australia in both formats now. In September 2010 he was theAustralian Cancer Council’s Ambassador for Awareness and Early Detection ofSkin Cancer.
Jai Prakash Yadav - At 21, he was diagnosed with a malignant tumour in his digestivesystem. After three rounds ofchemotherapy, he learnt that the Madhya Pradesh team was having a camp atIndore. He hid the exact ailment, andhence got picked to tour Bangalore. He went on to play 12 ODIs for India,including a 69 “ the world record for a No 9 batsman at that point of time.
Ken Wadsworth - A Kiwiwicketkeeper, he marked his arrival during the 1971-72 tour of West Indies. Hewithdrew from the team in 1976 and died of melanoma. No one in the cricketworld had been informed of the ailment and about his silent months ofagony.
“Tufty” Mann- The South African spinner was part of theirgreatest post war spin attack. A soft spoken man, he died of cancer at the ageof 31 years.
Sir Frank Worrell- He was a graceful yet efficient batsman(he averaged 49.48) and one of the greatest captains of the sport. He died ofleukemia at 42.
Malcolm Marshall- One of the greatest fast bowlers of alltime. At 41 he was diagnosed with colon cancer and died at 42 in 1999.
