Croft - 'I'm lucky to be alive'
England's former offspinner, Robert Croft, has spent the night in hospital in Swansea, after the car he was driving was involved in a motorway collision with a lorry
Cricinfo staff
16-Feb-2005
 |
|
Robert Croft believes he is "lucky to be alive" after the car he was driving was involved in a freak motorway accident on the M4 near Swansea. Croft, who retired from international cricket last year to concentrate on the Glamorgan captaincy, was struck on his bowling shoulder after a wooden pallet came loose from a lorry in front of him and smashed through his windscreen.
The incident took place on Tuesday evening outside the town of Penllergaer in Carmarthenshire. Croft was taken to Morriston Hospital in Swansea, where he was kept overnight as a precautionary measure, and underwent a scan on Wednesday. His father and a family friend, who were also travelling in the car with him, came away unscathed.
"On the eve of a season of cricket, something like this puts life into context," Croft told the BBC. "A plank of wood came through the windscreen of the car and luckily we are here to tell the tale. A large part is I'm really happy to be alive. I am not trying to blow it out of all context, but it was pretty shaky."
Croft, who made his debut for England in 1996, played in 21 Tests and 50 one-day internationals before retiring in 2004 to concentrate on the captaincy at Glamorgan. He was named as Glamorgan's player of the season after guiding the county to the Totesport League title.