WATCH: Iain O’Brien thanks fans after crowd-funding money to return to England amidst coronavirus scare

Iain O’Brien thanks fans: The former Kiwi pacer was stuck in New Zealand away from his ill wife and two daughters in England.

Former New Zealand fast bowler Iain O’Brien has managed to recover from a major family-related scare in the times of an outbreak of a “pandemic” in the novel COVID-19.

O’Brien, who played the last of his 22 Tests and 10 ODIs in December 2009, was stuck in New Zealand after he visited his native country to meet his parents.

The 43-year old currently lives in England with his wife and two daughters. Set to travel back to his family, O’Brien’s trip continued to get delayed as an aftermath of cancellation of flights.

O’Brien booking three flights at exorbitant rates saw him getting to a situation where he had to initiate a fund-raising activity to return to England.

It is worth mentioning that O’Brien’s wife suffers from a serious lung condition which puts her in the list of people who are vulnerable to COVID-19. “This virus could kill her [wife]. I need to get back ASAP to help her out and keep her safe,” O’Brien had written on his PayPal page while inviting donations.

“If anyone would love a 20 min Skype/vid call, one on one, talk about all things cricket, politics, sausages, mental health, Sachin, etc… If you’d like that & can spare a couple of $£, message me and we can work out a time,” O’Brien had mentioned on his page regarding the services he can offer in return of the donations.

Iain O’Brien thanks fans

With people donating generously to O’Brien’s cause, he is in a condition where he can return back home on April 5. While he will have to serve a 14-day isolation period upon returning to England, O’Brien believes that him being there will aid his family.

“This is quite difficult because I’m not used to these kind of things. But I woke up this morning, maybe for the third or fourth time in my life I cried before I got out of bed… I thank you all so much for your contributions. It’s completely oxymoron, but I’m speechless and I really don’t know what to say. I’m just so grateful…thank you and my wife thanks you,” O’Brien said in a YouTube video posted on his own channel.

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