Twitter Reactions: Cricketing universe bids Martin Crowe a good bye

Thursday morning brought a sad news for the cricket fans. Former New Zealand skipper Martin Crowe is no more among us as he lost his battle to cancer at the age of 53. He had been suffering from lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system, for a second time. Crowe was cleared off the disease in 2012 but it was confirmed in September 2014 that it had returned.

His family announced his death “with heavy hearts”, adding that he “passed away peacefully” on Thursday.

New Zealand team head coach Mike Hesson told TV3 that some players would be “deeply affected” by Crowe’s death. “He was a mentor, he was a friend that – when times are tough, which they are in this game – they felt they had someone they could really talk to,” Hesson said.

“The whole cricket family around the world will be mourning him.”

Former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming said he was an inspiration to him and so many others and was “one of our true greats”.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key also expressed his condolences to Crowe’s family. The PM in a statement said: “Martin was a truly great sportsman – one of our finest ever batsmen and sharpest cricketing minds,”

“He was a world-class athlete whose exploits on the pitch endeared him to cricket fans around the world, whose leadership helped propel our Black Caps to the 1992 Cricket World Cup semi-final and whose tutelage has helped the next generation to excel.”

Here is how Twitter paid tribute to Martin Crowe: