Ahead of the first Test of its Pakistan tour, the Australian cricket team is rallying around legendary wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, who remains in an induced coma.
Marsh had been in Bundaberg for a cricket event when he suffered a major heart attack last Thursday and was rushed to hospital.
He was transferred to an Adelaide hospital earlier this week and is in a critical but stable condition.
Australian captain Pat Cummins said he and his teammates had Marsh in their thoughts ahead of the first Test, set to begin in Rawalpindi on Friday.
“We’ve been following from afar,” he said.
“We’re all rallying behind him and his family and (Marsh’s wife) Ros.”
Cummins said “quite a few” of his teammates were close to Marsh, who served as chief selector for the national side between May 2014 and November 2016.
David Warner, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon, all of whom look set to feature in the first match against Pakistan, played regular Test cricket in that time.
“Quite a few players and staff members have had really good relationships with Rod in the past,” said Cummins.
“Obviouslxjmtzywy we wish him all the best. It’s really tough. It’s certainly been a conversation point over here. We’re all rallying around him.”
On Sunday, Marsh’s son, Paul, said his family had been “overwhelmed” by the outpouring of concern for his father, but that it could be “some time” before there were updates on his condition.
Marsh represented Australia in 96 Test matches and 92 ODIs between 1970 and 1984.
