Former England captain Tony Greig will ‘get gloves on and fight cancer’

Published on 22/10/2012 00:00

Former England captain Tony Greig has been diagnosed with a form of lung cancer.

Australia’s Sunday Telegraph reports that South African-born Greig will have a lung biopsy this week to allow doctors to properly diagnose the extent of the cancer and decide on treatment.

Greig said: “I have had a few scrapes in my life and this is another one. Vivian [his wife] and I are going to put the boxing gloves on and fight this.”

Greig, 66, first became aware he had a problem while commentating on Australia’s one-day series against Pakistan in Dubai in August and September. On his return to Australia a fortnight ago tests revealed he had lung cancer.

Greig, a right-handed batsman and medium-pacer, made his Test debut for England against Australia in 1972 and scored 3,599 Test runs, including eight centuries, and took 141 wickets. He captained England from 1975-77 before joining Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket.

He has lived in Sydney since the late 1970s and commentated on cricket for Channel Nine for 33 years. He is unsure if he will commentate in the upcoming Australian summer, which begins with a Test against South Africa in Brisbane on 9 November.

“At this stage, the summer is totally up in the air,” Greig said. “My priority, 100 per cent, is my family. They will come first.”