Damien Martyn announces retirement

[Fab]

www.heraldsun.com.au

AUSTRALIAN Test batsman Damien Martyn has retired from first-class cricket, apparently after being told he would be dropped from the third Test team.

The Australian selectors are meeting today to choose the team for the Test against England in Perth next week.

Martyn, who had scored just 35 runs in his three innings this Ashes series, told Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland of his decision this morning and said it was effective immediately.

"I would like to advise of my retirement from cricket, effective from today,'' Martyn said in a statement.

"I do so with a deep awareness of the opportunities that the game and Cricket Australia have provided for me."

"However, I'm also aware of the tremendous challenges facing Australian cricket including this current Ashes series. Such challenges require people who are more than 100 per cent committed, dedicated, disciplined and passionate about the game, what it seeks to achieve and how those involved in the game can best serve cricket, sport and the wider community."

"I feel, therefore, its time for me to move aside. I have enjoyed everything the game has given me. I have gained from it more then I could have ever imagined. I have made, in the playing of cricket, lifelong friends."

"In particular, I want to thank the Australian captain, Ricky Ponting and all members of the current Australian Test and one-day sides. They have always been utterly supportive, totally professional and completely committed to all that their responsibilities require of them."

"I said to myself when I made this decision in the last 48 hours that I may lose friends in doing what I'm doing. But I also said to myself that if I stayed doing what I was doing I may equally lose respect for myself and the friendship of those around me who are entitled to expect from me more than 100 per cent."

"I wish everyone associated with Cricket Australia the very best. In going, I'd like to commend the game to anyone who wants to achieve personal satisfaction, who wants to make good friends and wants to be part of a value system which will serve them long after they finish playing the game."

Australian captain Ricky Ponting said: "This decision is obviously something Damien has thought long and hard about and I know that I and all of the other members of the team will miss him greatly."

"Damien is one of the world's most unsung players in both forms of the game and I don't think it is really understood how good a player he actually is. In recent times he won the Test in Johannesburg off his own bat and played a huge role in Australia claiming the ICC Champions Trophy in India for the first time."

"He is one of those players who, as the conditions and situations got harder and more difficult, the better he became. Some of his innings in Sri Lanka and India on turning pitches proved his class and I know I will miss his influence on the Australian team."

Martyn played 67 Tests after making his debut against the West Indies at the Gabba in 1992.
He scored 4406 runs at 46.37.

His final Test was in last week's victory over England in the second 3 mobile Ashes Test in Adelaide.

He also played 208 one-day international matches, the first also against the West Indies in Sydney during the 1992 season and has scored 5346 runs at 40.80.

[Polyal]

jeez thats a bit sudden, even if he got dropped for the next test thats not indefinite.

Im sure there were other reasons though, good luck to him.

[Grum]

That is a shame, he is a top bloke and a great cricketer to watch. Well thanks for the memories and the catches in the stands!

[Stugots]

67 tests in 14 years! He paid dearly after the 92/93 Windies tour.

Anyway, I've always been an Andrew Symonds fan, I hope he gets another shot and makes the most of it.

[MeestaNob!]

A brilliant batsman who never approached his true potential. He made batting look rediculously easy, much in the Mark Waugh style, but his inconsistent form was not really good enough for this level of cricket.

A wasted talent.

I can only speculate on what has actually caused him to pull the pin though. Bowing out mid-Ashes series is huge, form slump or not.

[MrSparkle]

He has had a pretty good career and provided some great moments for the game. I think the time is actually pretty good for the call though, there are some great young'uns coming through that will revel in the international spotlight, and that we also need to get tuned up as our beloved "Dad's Army" continues to slow down towards retirement.

[xr8-200]

This could be just the thing to help England get back into the series. Now they just need Ponting, Hayden, McGrath, Warne, Langer.......... pretty much every player in state cricket to retire in the next week and they will be right back in this series

[xbcool]

i think the writing was on the wall, he just hasnt been in very good form of late,its just a shame he isnt going back to play state cricket ,he still has a lot to offer.

hayden needs run or he may be next!!

[MO]

He was already selected for the Perth test and had not been told same as the rest.

His retirement has nothing to do with being selected or not...he lost the passion and got out so as to allow someone else to come up.

[HTCURRY]

Originally Posted by xbcool

i think the writing was on the wall, he just hasnt been in very good form of late,its just a shame he isnt going back to play state cricket ,he still has a lot to offer.

hayden needs run or he may be next!!

He did pretty well in South Africa recently and in the ICC Champions Trophy. So the bad form is only applicable for the Ashes series so far.

Marto was an awesome player( i never saw the early to mid 90s era marto bat...didnt know cricket was a sport back then), i loved watching him bat, but like others have said/observed I used to get frustrated at the number of "soft" dismissals he had in his career ala Mark Waugh.

Spot on with the statement about Hayden...