WILTSHIRE and Trowbridge cricketer Billy Cookson has vowed to play again once he recovers from serious multiple injuries to his arms and legs.

The promising youngster has told supporters that he can’t imagine ever not being able to play the game again in his lifetime.

Speaking on a link from his hospital bed in Melbourne, Australia, the 23-year-old from Chippenham told a packed audience at a charity auction in Trowbridge he was overwhelmed by the generosity of supporters who have already raised more than £15,800.

He said: “The kind of response that has happened due to this accident has just been monumental - it’s been incredible really.

“There’s been a few tears from some of the messages that I’ve been sent and some of the articles that have been written. It has been just absolutely crazy the way that people have responded.

“I do want to play a game of cricket again in my lifetime.

“There’s no doubt actually that I will play it again.”

Mr Cookson had gone to Australia in the autumn to follow his dream of playing there but tragedy struck when he was involved in a head-on crash with a bus.

He had been given a job as a full-time delivery driver by Kyabram Cricket Club president Tim Nelson, at Repco Echuca where he is store manager.

Mr Cookson suffered severe multiple injuries to his head, lungs, arms, legs and ankles after being in a head-on collision on the Murray Valley highway near Melbourne.

He was driving a pick-up truck to deliver tools on his first day in a job that would pay for a winter of cricket when he crashed head-on into a bus.

The 23-year-old from Chippenham in Wiltshire suffered punctured lungs, a torn liver, a broken leg and both ankles, and the partial amputation of his right elbow.

His friends in Trowbridge, where he is a wicket keeper and batsman, rallied to support him when they heard the news.

So far, they have raised £7,500 with an auction and more than £8,300 online to help speed his recovery.

His family says it could take nine months or more before he is fit enough to return home to Wiltshire.

His father Matthew Cookson said:“He’s just recently moved from the Royal Melbourne Hospital, which is a trauma hospital, across to the Rehab Hospital so we’ve come a long way in quite a short space of time in terms of the three weeks or so since he’s had the accident. “Billy can only stand on one leg and has been out in Australia on his own for the last three days.

“He is working hard on his physio, supported now by the Kyabram guys when they are able to make the 2.5-hour each way trip to visit him.”

Mr Cookson started his cricketing career with Chippenham Cricket Club and also played football for Corsham Town Football Club.

To donate to the appeal, go to to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/boosting-billy?utm_id=1&utm_term=P476XXrng