A fortnight ago, Glenn Rogers was stricken by typhoid while on tour with Scotland in Kenya and was "absolutely devastated" at the possibility of missing out on next month's World Cup.
However, yesterday, the 29- year-old Stenhousemuir all-rounder was in joyous mood after being confirmed as part of the 15-man squad which will venture to the Caribbean for the sport's premier competition at the end of this month.
Unsurprisingly, it has been a fraught time for the Australian-born player but last night, even as he spelled out how he suffered agonising pain and endured dramatic weight loss during his sojourn to Mombasa for the World Cricket League, he expressed confidence that he would emerge stronger from the experience.
"It has been a bit of a nightmare," said Rogers, who only made his debut for his adopted country shortly before Christmas. "I could hardly believe it when I was diagnosed with typhoid. At first, I put it down to sunstroke, but then I had terrible diarrhoea, bouts of vomiting and my temperature shot through the roof."
"While this was happening, I did begin to worry what was going on. I lost 15lb and joked with my team-mates that if my cricket career was over, I'd be able to get a job as a jockey.
"But, on the flight home to Scotland, I was utterly disconsolate and it seemed as if I had lost my World Cup chance.
"However, I've been on an intensive course of tablets and I've had an interview with public health officials, as well as speaking to a specialist on tropical diseases in Aberdeen, and while I have to continue having tests, the authorities seem quite relaxed.
"I'm still not 100%, and I will have to work hard in the gym for the next few weeks, but that is no big deal when I think what I felt like at the beginning of this month. My goal now is to be fit for the friendly against Sri Lanka on March 5."
Rogers' recovery has allowed Peter Drinnen, the Scottish coach, to choose the same squad which was originally selected for the WCL, in which Craig Wright's side finished runners-up and qualified for the inaugural Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa in September.
But, for the moment, Rogers, whose spin bowling, in tandem with Majid Haq and Ross Lyons, may prove crucial if the Scots are to have any chance of combating the superpowers of Australia and South Africa in their group, is simply relieved that he has rallied from an illness which still proves fatal to many people in Africa.
"When I phoned Sarah his wife to break the news that I had typhoid, she was really shocked, and her first thoughts were for son Cameron, who is only five months old, but we have all pulled together and I am feeling better with every passing day," said Rogers.
"It feels incredible that I will be travelling to the West Indies in less than three weeks, but the Scotland team offered me incredible support when I was ill and I have to repay that faith in Barbados and St Kitts.
"All of us will certainly be giving it our best shot."
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