WELLINGTON, Oct 15: Former New Zealand cricket captain Martin Crowe has been diagnosed with lymphoma, an invasive cancer of the immune system, his manager said on Monday.

Louise Henderson said the 50-year-old Crowe had only recently received the diagnosis and requested privacy while he and his family deal with the news.

Henderson said: “The family have a number of issues to confront over the next couple of weeks. The diagnosis is very new, the family is still in shock and obviously dealing with the understanding that life as they know it for the unforeseeable future is different.”

Crowe, who is married to former Miss Universe Lorraine Downes, played 77 Tests and 143 One-day Internationals for New Zealand between 1982 and 1995. He scored more than 5,400 Test runs at an average of 45 with 17 centuries.—AP