Former New Zealand cricket coach Andy Moles has revealed he lost a leg after a serious infection earlier this year.
The 59-year-old underwent emergency surgery in Cape Town in April, after surgeons warned he could develop septicaemia.
Moles said he started to develop problems following a 5km walk in 47degree heat while in Abu Dhabi with the Afghanistan cricket side last year, according to the Daily Mail.
The Afghan director of cricket said he lost skin of the sole of his left foot and it quickly became badly infected.
Following Afghanistan's return home from a tour of India, Moles returned to South Africa to see a specialist as concerns grew around his recovery.
Moles told the Daily Mail he initially had his toe amputated, but his condition worsened as the infection began "chewing away the flesh of my foot."
"Then on April 4, I remember it vividly, a specialist came to me and said, 'you’ve been fighting this for 10 days'," Moles said.
"[He said] 'if we don’t take drastic action, it could spread up the leg, and you could even get septicaemia'.
"I had about half an hour of feeling sorry for myself, and a wobble of the bottom lip. But I was in hospital around the time the COVID lockdown in South Africa started, and one or two bodies were already being wheeled out.
"The reality is, I would only be missing a lower left limb. Is it going to stop me walking? No. Will it stop me coaching? No."
Moles said he is now using what he describes as a "half-mechanical peg leg" to assist him in walking. He is due for an upgrade however following a donation from the Professional Cricketers' Trust, which has pledged him NZ$18,000 for a carbon-fibre prosthetic.
Moles was named Blackcaps coach in 2008, succeeding John Bracewell, but he lasted just a year in the job following a player revolt.
