Ahead of his World Matchplay defence, Cross spoke about the effect of losing his grandfather and the new perspective it gave him regarding the situation.

"It's very sad obviously, he was a massive part of my life. He'll be sadly missed and probably without him I wouldn't be the person what I am today so I think people define you in life and they show you a path," said the former World Champion to title sponsors Betfred.

"We're not immune, the weird thing is when he went into hospital and the hospital said that it was only a couple of days, you believe they're coming back. I think the saddest thing with the virus is you couldn't visit, you couldn't say goodbye so it is very sad."

On the NHS, Cross paid tribute to the key workers who have worked on the frontline during this pandemic: "They're amazing, how many people work for the NHS and their bravery to go in there. This virus you can't see it, you can't identify it straight away," he continued.

"It's just pure bravery, I think the only other thing you could compare it to is the people who went to fight in the World War I and II. The country needed the NHS to stand up and I think they've done everyone proud."

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