Sir Geoffrey Boycott credits the actions of his wife Rachael for saving his life after he was hospitalised with pneumonia.

The 83-year-old England great insists he is “lucky to be alive” following a rapid deterioration in his health last month as he battles throat cancer for the second time.

“I am still here because of the quick thinking of my wife Rachael,” Boycott said in his column in The Telegraph.

“She recognised I had taken a turn for the worse in my recovery from surgery for throat cancer.

“I was recuperating at home from the operation and felt pretty good at first but overnight I became delirious, was not talking properly and looked awful.

“We had a pulse oximeter at home which she put on my finger and it recorded my blood oxygen level at 35 per cent.

“That is when she knew there was a major problem and called an ambulance. I was rushed back in, put on oxygen and diagnosed with pneumonia.

“It has knocked hell out of me and if Rachael had not acted so quickly I am pretty sure I would not have made it through the night. She saved my life, no doubt about that.”

Boycott left Wythenshawe Hospital on Thursday night and must now “get stronger over the coming weeks”.