Support stuns O’Brien

AUCKLAND: Former Black Caps bowler Iain O’Brien has been left ‘‘blown away’’ after his fundraising plea to get home to his wife and daughters was rapidly supported by donations.

O’Brien, who lives in England, was in New Zealand visiting his parents when the coronavirus outbreak struck.

The need to return was exacerbated by the fact that wife Rosie has a lung condition which makes her vulnerable to the Covid19 virus.

Three flight cancellations, and the delays in getting refunds from airlines, left him low on funds so O’Brien started a PayPal page hoping to raise £2250 ($NZ4500) so he could finally catch a flight home.

‘‘This virus could kill her,’’ O’Brien said of his wife.

To raise funds, O’Brien offered Skype or video chats with anyone interested.

Clearly, there were a lot of people interested, as in just two days he has raised £4105.

Yesterday he struggled to put his gratitude into words as he posted a video on YouTube thanking those who had contributed.

‘‘This is quite difficult because I’m not used to these kinds of things, but I woke up this morning and maybe for the third or fourth time in my life I cried before I got out of bed.

‘‘Thank you all so much for your contributions — it’s completely oxymoronic but I’m speechless. I’m just so grateful. Thank you, and my wife thanks you.’’

O’Brien will leave the fundraising page open, and any funds not used to cover his flights will go towards a charity of his choice. —