Unlike just about all of the big names he played with, cricket great Damien Martyn went out of his way to stay out of the spotlight – until being plunged back into it due to his battle with meningitis.
The 54-year-old veteran of 67 Tests is in an induced coma in a Gold Coast hospital as he is treated for the deadly infection in what’s been described as ‘the fight of his life’.
Martyn’s health drama reportedly began when he felt ill and went to lie down on Boxing Day, and his dire situation became big news as greats of the game rallied around him.
Prior to that, the former top-order star had separated himself from teammates like Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer by keeping an extremely low profile and not chasing commentary roles.
Martyn’s career as one of the most stylish batsman in cricket came to an end in 2006, when he shocked his teammates and fans by retiring from all forms of the game after just two Tests of the Ashes series.
He immediately gave cricket tragics a sign of things to come by leaving for Hawaii with his wife in order to escape the huge attention generated by his announcement.
Damien Martyn (pictured recently) tried to avoid headlines in his years as one of the most talented cricketers in the world
The 54-year-old (pictured playing for Australia in 2006) once said ‘When I retire I won’t be hanging around’ – and he’s been true to his word
Martyn’s phones were disconnected as he pulled off what was described as ‘the greatest vanishing act in the history of Australian sport’ by the Sydney Morning Herald.
The publication reported that his best mate, Ponting, couldn’t get in contact with him and that Martyn had kept all his teammates in the dark about his life-changing decision to permanently put his baggy green cap away.
It was reported that the West Australian had decided on retirement in 2004 when he was reprimanded for flipping the middle finger at a TV cameraman outside the team hotel.
But Martyn’s habit of shunning the limelight started long before he starred in some of the greatest Test teams in the sport’s history.
‘I never liked being the centre of attention,’ he explained shortly before quitting the sport.
‘As a kid I was called the glamour boy and all that, and part of me liked it.
‘But deep down I’d rather not be noticed by anyone.
‘When I retire I won’t be hanging around. You won’t see me for dust.’
Unlike many of his famous teammates, Martyn (pictured bottom row, second from right in 2001) never chased high-profile roles after he left the game
The West Australian is currently in a coma as he battles meningitis in a Gold Coast hospital
That desire to avoid the limelight meant Martyn was well suited to playing in a team with so many other huge names in it.
‘I think in our side we’ve got lots of champion superstars, and it doesn’t really bother me that I don’t get the attention that someone like Ponting or Warne gets,’ he said.
‘People like me and Justin Langer are the quieter ones, the backroom boys, and not always in the media – which can be a good thing.’
Once he got out of the game, Martyn said he was ‘going from odd job to odd job’ as he dipped his toes into media work without ever really chasing it.
‘I think it was because I was quiet, I never chased the media, so I was seen as a loner,’ he said in 2012.
‘But I was happy for others to have the limelight.’
Since Martyn’s meningitis battle became public, a raft of cricket stars have sent him messages of support.
Adam Gilchrist made a statement on behalf of Martyn’s family, and his former teammate turned Australia Test coach Darren Lehmann sent him ‘lots of love and prayers’.
England greats Darren Gough and Michael Vaughan, South Africa’s Dale Steyn, and India’s VVS Laxman and Ravi Ashwin have all urged Martyn to fight on.
