“He’s in good spirits and overwhelmed by the support. There is still some treatment and monitoring to go but it’s looking positive.
“He will remain in hospital and continue to receive treatment but the turnaround has been miraculous.”
Damien Martyn batting at the SCG in 2002.Credit: Getty Images
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg, Indian champion VVS Laxman, and Ashes-winning England captain Michael Vaughan were among the cricket greats to send their best wishes to Martyn.
Regarded as one of Australia’s most gifted stroke-makers, Martyn scored 4406 Test runs at an average of 46.37. He debuted as a 21-year-old against the West Indies in 1992 and retired after the second Test of the 2006-07 Ashes series in Adelaide.
He was the player of the series the last time Australia won an away series in India, top-scoring in four of Australia’s eight innings at the crease in the 2004 battle for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Martyn scored an unbeaten 88 off 84 balls in Australia’s 2003 ODI World Cup final triumph, batting with a broken finger in a match-winning partnership with captain Ricky Ponting. He played 208 ODIs and scored 5346 runs at 40.09. He was a regular in one of history’s most dominant limited-overs teams.
Since retiring, Martyn has held various commentary positions and maintained a social media presence, posting on X as recently as December 24 about the Boxing Day Test.
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