Damien Martyn

Damien Martyn

Australia

Full name Damien Richard Martyn
Born October 21, 1971, Darwin, Northern Territory
Current age 35 years 131 days
Major teams Australia, Leicestershire, Western Australia, Yorkshire
Nickname Marto
Playing role Higher middle order batsman
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Height 1.81 m

Statsguru

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	67	109	14	4406	165	46.37	8569	51.41	13	23	513	10	36	0
ODIs	208	182	51	5346	144*	40.80	6877	77.73	5	37	441	22	69	0
Twenty20 Int.	4	4	0	120	96	30.00	74	162.16	0	1	11	5	1	0
First-class	204	343	46	14630	238	49.25			44	73			158	2
List A	297	264	64	8567	144*	42.83			10	60			102	0
Twenty20	5	5	0	156	96	31.20	93	167.74	0	1			3	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5	10
Tests	67	348	168	2	1/0	1/4	84.00	2.89	174.00	0	0	0
ODIs	208	794	704	12	2/21	2/21	58.66	5.31	66.16	0	0	0
Twenty20 Int.	4	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	0	0	0
First-class	204	3365	1563	37	4/30		42.24	2.78	90.94		0	0
List A	297	1549	1300	41	3/3	3/3	31.70	5.03	37.78	0	0	0
Twenty20	5	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	0	0	0

Career statistics
Test debut	Australia v West Indies at Brisbane - Nov 27-Dec 1, 1992
Last Test	Australia v England at Adelaide - Dec 1-5, 2006
ODI debut	Australia v West Indies at Sydney - Dec 8, 1992
Last ODI	Australia v West Indies at Mumbai (BS) - Nov 5, 2006
Twenty20 Int. debut	New Zealand v Australia at Auckland - Feb 17, 2005
Last Twenty20 Int.	South Africa v Australia at Johannesburg - Feb 24, 2006
First-class span	1990/91 - 2006/07
List A span	1991/92 - 2006/07
Twenty20 span	2004/05 - 2005/06

Notes

Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2002
Walter Lawrence Trophy 2003
Test Player of the Year - 2005

Profile

No contemporary cricketer, Tendulkar aside, made batting look so simple as Damien Martyn. But it was not always thus. For the brash 21-year-old who waltzed into the Australian team at Dean Jones's expense, batting was an exercise in extravagance. To defend was to display weakness - a policy that backfired in 1993-94 when Martyn's airy square-drive at a crucial moment in Sydney triggered a five-run defeat by South Africa and a seven-year hitch to his own promising career. By the time Western Australia, wanting a pretty face to spearhead their marketing campaign, had made him captain at 23, Martyn looked a tormented man. All the more remarkable, then, that he blossomed into a relaxed, classical, feathery artist. He was an elastic fieldsman and an old-style batsman whose first movement was back. He played with a high elbow, a still head, a golfer's deft touch, and had all the shots, including perhaps the most brutal reverse-sweep in the game.

Mostly, though, Martyn stuck to the textbook and composed pristine hundreds which, like the feats of the best wicketkeepers, passed almost unnoticed: an observation supported by the curious fact that, despite a Test average in the fifties, he reached the age of 30 without winning a Man-of-the-Match award. He was the quiet man of the 2003 World Cup-raising side, too, playing a minor role until he spanked 88 not out in the final - with a broken finger that later kept him out of a West Indian tour. His magnificent 13-month streak of 1608 Test runs at 61 and two Man-of-the-Series prizes from March 2004 finally moved him from the dressing-room shadows to the more uncomfortable limelight. Showing his hard-earned versatility, he crafted seven centuries on surfaces ranging from raging turners in Sri Lanka and India to green seamers in New Zealand and the hard bounce of home.

The flood ended in England and following a series of 178 runs and a couple of horrid umpiring decisions he was the major casualty of the Ashes loss. Retaining a one-day spot, he expected his five-day days were over - "If that's my last Test match, well, I've had a great time" - but was reprieved when the selectors wanted experience for the South Africa tour. As the decision to ignore policy by looking back to a 34 year old became increasingly doubtful, Martyn repaid with a nerveless 101 that led to victory in the final Test. After being a key part in Australia's first Champions Trophy success, he struggled in the opening two Tests of the Ashes series and swiftly retired.