Crowe pulls out of tour

Press, 29 September 1988, Page 60

Crowe pulls out of tour

PA Auckland The lingering effects of a bout of food poisoning suffered four years ago has ruled Martin Crowe out of New Zealand’s 12-week cricket tour of India. Doctors only recently identified the salmonella bacteria Crowe has carried since New Zealand’s 1984 tour of Sri Lanka, and advised him against touring India this year. Crowe saw his doctor on Tuesday afternoon, contacted the New Zealand Cricket Council later the same day, and asked to be withdrawn from the Indian tour party. Ironically, the back injury which forced Crowe out of county

cricket is nearly fully healed, and would not otherwise have prevented the 26-year-bld right-hander touring. “I’d wondered for a long time why I seemed to be picking up a lot of bugs and things that were going around,” Crowe said yesterday. “But now I know that the salmonella broke down a lot of my immunities. “I’ve had a general feeling something was wrong for a couple of years but I could never pin it down. Even my back injury was worse than it should have been.”, The N.Z.C.C. has asked Crowe to submit to a second medical opinion, but it is un-

likely to change his decision to withdraw. “They’d like to get another opinion because it’s allowed for under the regulations,” Crowe said. “That’s fine, but this isn’t just a matter of getting someone else to have a look at me. It’s not that simple. “I’m having daily treatment and I hope to be playing again by the new year. Going to India could jeopardise all of that.” The New Zealand selectors said they hoped to name Crowe’s replacement in the next week. “The problem is we aren’t only replacing our major batsman, but also our vice-captain,” the chairman of selec-

tors, Don Neely, said yesterday. “Obviously we can’t replace Martin with a batsman of similar ability, but hopefully one of our other batsmen will take this opportunity to really establish himself.” Crowe is optimistic about the future. “It has always been my desire to succeed in a country like India,” Crowe said. “But obviously there’s no point in going on a tour if you aren’t able to give a 100 per cent physical effort. “There has been an encouraging side effect though — I’ve been at less than 100 per cent for the past few years and still achieving a measure of success,” he said.