Damien Martyn

Born in Darwin, Damien Martyn was the only cricketer from the Northern Territory to have played for Australia and was one of the longest-serving batsmen in the team.

Martyn represented the Australian Cricket Academy and was also captain of the Australia Under-19 squad. He made his Test and ODI debut in Australia’s home series against West Indies in 1992 at the expense of Dean Jones. Martyn was considered to be one of the classiest batsmen of his era and made batting look much uncomplicated. He was a promising talent for the Aussies but living the glamorous life affected his career. Following his defensive approach, he was dropped from the national side. After a disappointing stint in the Australian team, he was named captain of Western Australia at the age of 23. His domestic form declined as well and post that he nearly gave up playing cricket and started a travel company.

After a six-year hitch, ‘Marto’ returned to the international fold for the series against New Zealand after he scored a double century against Tasmania in 1999. After his comeback he cemented his place in the both the Test and the ODI squad. Martyn was a typical textbook cricketer. He played with a high elbow and high head and was one of the best reverse sweepers in the game. He was an integral part of the 2003 World Cup winning squad and scored an unbeaten 88 not out in the final. A magnificent 13-month streak saw him scoring over 1600 runs and bagging two man-of the-series awards. In 2004, he finally came into the limelight when he helped Australia secure a first series win on the sub-continent in more than 30 years. Later, he became instrumental in Australia’s first Champions Trophy success, following which his career began to decline. Struggling in the Ashes of 2006, Martyn finally called it quits in 2006.