AUCKLAND, (Diya TV) The cricket world lost one of its bests this week as Martin Crowe succumbed to a nearly four year battle with follicular lymphoma. Martin Crowe passed away at 53. He ranks amongst cricket’s greatest – as a batsman and a leader.

Martin Crowe

A dynamic top order batsman himself, New Zealand had an epic run under his leadership in the 1992 World Cup where they played cricket way ahead of present times. They reached the semi-final in style as they batted aggressively at the top of the order and bowled spin in the opening overs. This was adrenalin pumping cricket back in 1992 that became the new world order quickly for other teams to follow. Martin continued to innovate as he co-designed Cricket Max, a precursor to the exciting modern day T20 format.

Martin Crowe

Martin’s understanding of his craft and his life shines through his balanced writing in recent times. Martin wrote for ESPN Cricinfo bringing his a more thoughtful approach to what’s already a gentleman’s game. His knowledge from the field and his life experience dealing with cancer allowed him to dig deep and analyze beyond just technique and form.

In one of his articles on ESPN Cricinfo Crowe talked about ‘Minding the Gap’

“The space between two balls is where cricket is really played”

Martin Crowe, was one of the leading batsmen of the late ’80s and early ’90s, played 77 Tests for New Zealand. The world over, cricket greats and fans are mourning the pre-mature loss of this phenomenal player who continued to give to the game, even in his last days.

The tweets continue to pour in with the hashtag #MartinCrowe

Rest in peace Martin, you are gone too soon.

Information from the ESPN Cricinfo site and Martin Crowe contributed to this report.