England leg-spinner Sarah Glenn is all too aware of the dangers of Covid-19, having taken nearly two months to recover after contracting the illness, which she believes she got from a chance encounter with a drunk man.
Glenn, who was named PCA Women’s Player of the Year earlier this month, suspects she was infected with the virus when a man who seemed drunk bumped into her while she was running errands in Derbyshire in April.
She told The Telegraph in an interview that she was staying with her family in Derbyshire after returning from the Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia, and “taking all precautions” to ensure her parents don’t contract the illness, only going out to walk her dog.
“I had to get out of the house one day and we needed a food shop so I offered,” Glenn said. “I came across this bloke who bumped into me and laughed. I think he was drunk. Me and the lady at the till were in shock.
“I felt really uncomfortable. It was my first and only shopping experience in lockdown and it was awful. He bumped into me again, so I walked out. I came home so angry. I said to my parents, ‘If I get ill next week I’m going to be fuming’. And there I was next week in bed. It was not great.”
Sarah Glenn's T20I record:
14 matches, 22 wickets @ 12.63, and only two wicketless innings.#ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/5oIdDFSgsy
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) September 28, 2020
The 21-year-old Glenn took an antibody test, which confirmed the illness, although her parents tested negative. Having had to spend two months in recovery, she admitted it took “a long time to get over it”.
“It really opened my eyes and I start to get angry when young people say, ‘Oh we will be fine’. No. I’m a fit young athlete and I was a bit worried. I had a couple of bad nights so I get annoyed by that. I did not realise how much it affected your lungs and it took me a long time to get over it.”
