Martin Crowe funeral: Russell Crowe farewells cousin at emotional service
HOLLYWOOD star Russell Crowe was on hand to farewell his cousin at an emotional funeral for New Zealand cricket legend Martin Crowe.
And the funeral allowed a little known fact about ‘cousin Marty’ to get some more airtime, with former Black Caps wicketkeeper Ian Smith using his eulogy to reminisce about Martin Crowe’s appearance in the movie Gladiator.
Back in 2006, a joint interview between the two Crowe cousins led to the revelation that Martin had appeared as a senator in the Oscar-winning epic.
“The other great trip was Malta to go and see Russell on Gladiator,” Martin said in the interview with Holmes. “I got dressed up with my dad and my brother and we were in the movie.”
Russell and Martin were very close but it was thought the actor wouldn’t be able to attend the funeral due to other commitments.
However he managed to make it to the service in central Auckland, and was a pallbearer alongside All Blacks legend and lifelong Crowe friend Grant Fox.
Russell Crowe sent this heartfelt tribute when Martin passed away last week at the age of 53.
Smith, formerly a Test cricketer but these days better known for his work in the commentary box, delivered a pitch-perfect eulogy in which he threw large doses of humorous anecdotes into a heartfelt tribute to his mate.
Smith regaled those in attendance with stories of Crowe’s ability to mimic opponents - most notably West Indies legend Viv Richards - his leadership style, and of course his mastery of batting.
He also revealed that Crowe got in touch last year to ask Smith to deliver his eulogy when the time came.
“On June 17 last year I received a text message in the commentary box at Trent Bridge in Nottingham from Hogan,” Smith told the mourners at Holy Trinity Cathedral.
“It simply said, ‘Hey Stockley, I want you to do my eulogy’.
“The game out the window suddenly mattered not, as realisation struck home that this great man, this great mate, was possibly very quickly going to leave us.
“I consulted great friends Ian Botham and Mark Nicholas and together we prepared for the worst and we prepared very quickly.
“We should have known better of course he would fight. He always fought and fight he certainly did.”
Crowe’s brother Jeff also delivered a touching speech. He now works as a match referee for the ICC and fulfilled his duties in that role for a match between India and UAE just hours after Martin passed away.
Jeff said it was only while he was in India that he realised just how big an impact his brother had across the globe.
“It never really dawned on me how deep it went. What a huge splash he made, what a true inspiration he was to so many.”
Martin Crowe’s wife Lorraine also spoke, describing her husband as a “gentle, kind and loving soul” whose view on life was impacted greatly by his battle with cancer.