{"id":795112,"date":"2026-07-12T08:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T08:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/795112\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T08:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T08:08:10","slug":"cricketer-secretly-pens-thriller-before-his-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/795112\/","title":{"rendered":"Cricketer secretly pens thriller before his death"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The family of an amateur cricketer who died of cancer were stunned to find out he secretly penned a book during his final months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Matt Murray, from Colchester, wrote the thriller while undergoing chemotherapy, and only told his relatives about it a fortnight before his death on 16 December.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The 30-year-old accountant, who captained the 2nd XI at Eight Ash Green Cricket Club, had asked for the profits to be donated to charity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;It shows the sort of human he was,&#8221; said his younger brother, Jamie, adding: &#8220;I&#8217;m particularly proud of him for doing it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Murray was diagnosed with a wilms tumour &#8211; a form of kidney cancer &#8211; as a child and, despite getting the all clear, it reappeared in 2013.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Remarkably, he managed to continue playing cricket and achieved a first-class economics degree at Loughborough University.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Matt and Jamie Murray playing in the garden as children. Matt is holding a cricket bat in front of a wicket. Jamie is riding a small red tractor.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"674\" height=\"379\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/93773f9894932afd7e6b0239e4d2b552.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The Murray brothers shared a love of cricket from an early age [Murray family]<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">His book, called A Transfer of Consciousness, follows a police officer who gets wrapped up in a shadowy medical world after being diagnosed with cancer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;He got it edited without us knowing or anything like that, so it was a right old surprise,&#8221; Jamie Murray said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The younger sibling was tasked with getting the 164-page book published and spent hours overseeing this with his brother&#8217;s best friend.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It finally got over the line in May and was unveiled during a memorial match at the cricket club in June.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I think people are very quick to give excuses because they don&#8217;t have time or don&#8217;t have the ability, but look at him,&#8221; Murray said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;He was going through quite a hard life and dealt a pretty torrid time, but he still managed to do this, still managed to do the things he loved and didn&#8217;t really let the disease define him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Matt and Jamie Murray pictured as children while hugging and wearing matching blue and white Colchester United tops.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"951\" height=\"535\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/7144c47d8250bc7cc0535ec3673b33c3.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Jamie said Matt was &#8220;one of the best brothers you could ask for&#8221; [Murray family]<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The family hope it will raise vital funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust as a thank you for the support they have received.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Paying tribute to his brother, Murray added: &#8220;He was this person who always looked beyond the disease and always seemed very positive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;He was certainly one of the best brothers you could ask for.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Do you have a story suggestion for Essex? 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