Martin Crowe : Blackcaps Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor reflect on their time with Martin Crowe

Taylor, Guptill honour Crowe

Black Caps Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill have made an emotional tribute to the man who taught them so much – the late Martin Crowe.

Crowe, who lost his battle with cancer on Thursday, worked closely with the two batsmen during their international careers.

In an article he wrote before the Cricket World Cup final last year, Crowe described the pair as "the two sons I never had".

Ross Taylor was clearly emotional as he spoke about Martin Crowe.

A tearful Taylor recounted how Crowe, who described Taylor as "nothing but a dirty slogger" after first watching him play for Central Districts, was such an important figure to him.

"He was a massive influence on my career," he said.

PHOTOSPORT

Black Caps Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill have paid tribute to Martin Crowe.

"Some of my best innings came about because of his advice the night before.

"I wouldn't be the player I was without his influence and guidance."

Taylor said it was a one-and-a-half page letter he received the night before his record-breaking 290 against Australia last year that gave him the confidence to play the innings.

​Guptill also said Crowe had helped him immensely in the time they worked together.

"He was very positive, he just wanted to push me and me to be the best I could be," Guptill said.
"It's something I will never forget and something I will carry with me the rest of my career."

The funeral for the former NZ skipper, who played 77 tests and 143 one-day internationals for his country, and was widely regarded as the nation's best batsman, will be held at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell at 1pm on Friday.

Cricket legend Martin Crowe used liquid marijuana before his death

New Zealand cricket legend Martin Crowe was using liquid marijuana in the months leading up to his death this week from cancer, it has been claimed.

The former Black Caps captain passed away in Auckland at the age of 53 on Thursday as a result of blood disease lymphoma, which had been originally diagnosed in 2012.

The Kiwi's close friend Mike Selvey, himself a former England international, has now revealed that Crowe decided to use cannabis oil instead of undergoing chemotherapy when the cancer returned in 2014 after a period of remission.

New Zealand cricket legend Martin Crowe died at the age of 53 having battled against blood disease lymphoma since being originally diagnosed in 2012. He did one round of chemotherapy but refused a second Crowe (above left with wife Lorraine Downes) was using liquid marijuana to cope with the pain of his cancer towards the end of his life according to close friend and former England international Mike Selvey (above right)

Martin Crowe brings up a half century in the 1992 world cup

'He had been diagnosed with follicular lymphoma a couple of years previously but appeared to be in remission, cleared, until the cancer returned, in the virulent terminal form of double-hit lymphoma,' Selvey wrote in an obituary for the Guardian. 

'The apparently hale nature of his condition was a camouflage. When he was awake, he said, he did indeed feel good, but rather than undergoing yet more chemotherapy he was by then self-medicating with liquid marijuana and sleeping 15 hours a day. Happy hours though, he said.'

The former New Zealand captain hit 17 centuries in his 77-match Test career and scored 4,704 runs in one-day international matches, including an unbeaten 105 against England in 1984 (above)

The New Zealander was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2015 and was also awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II to honour his services to cricket in 1992 Crowe had already hinted at the marijuana usage before his death when he explained why he refused to go through chemotherapy for a second time after his cancer came back.

'The chemo's brutal and it was going to be a 100-day long vigil so I thought I would be better off if I just chilled out at home,' the Kiwi star told Radio New Zealand.

'I just chose, having been through it last year, that I'd be better off without the side effects.'

Liquid containing THC, short for tetrahydrocannabinol, can be extracted from the cannabis plant

Medicinal cannabis (above) is legal in certain countries but is not currently allowed in New Zealand

MEDICINAL CANNABIS FACTS 

Cannabis has a history of medicinal use dating back thousands of years across many cultures

Clinical trials have shown that it is somewhat effective for the treatment of chronic pain

Liquid marijuana is often used in vaporizer pens to get the same effect as smoking cannabis

Active ingredient in marijuana plant is called THC, short for tetrahydrocannabinol, which can be extracted into liquid form Australia is currently in the process of passing a law which would allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes

Cannabis is allowed for medical reasons in Canada, Germany, Italy, Holland and Spain - but not in New Zealand Medicinal cannabis is not legal in New Zealand and a spokesman for the country's Associate Health Minister, Peter Dunne, admitted they were not aware that Crowe was using liquid marijuana.

'No approach made to the minister or officials that we're aware of. Not at all. It's news to us," the spokesman said.

Australia did pass legislation just last week to legalise the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes, although the decision has not yet been fully ratified by the government.

Crowe captained New Zealand between 1990 and 1993 and scored 17 centuries in 77 Tests during an illustrious career.

He also amassed 4,704 runs in one-day internationals and is widely regarded as one of the best batsmen of his generation.

He was named New Zealand's sportsman of the year in 1991, inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2015 and was also awarded an MBE for services to cricket in 1992.