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Martyn finally at ease

Source: The Courier Mail - October 11, 2006

Damien Martyn has opened up to reveal the man behind the baggy green and how a winter on the farm with his new wife has him refreshed for Ashes revenge.

One of the most private and complex men in Australian cricket talked candidly this week about his life with wife Annika and how he no longer fears the end of his Test career.

Dumped from the Test side in last year's Ashes loss – and reinstated in South Africa in March – Martyn largely blocked cricket from his mind after his wedding this winter.

Married life has given the 34-year-old a new focus and while he burns for Ashes redemption, he has found a calmer place away from the hectic grind of the international cricket circuit.

"My wife is into her horses and equestrian riding. I was down on the farm and running around after horses and learning the horse trade, it was just great," Martyn said.

"She has events every two or three weeks in the state competition – showjumping, dressage and cross-country – I would go with her to watch.

"I wasn't into horses but she wasn't into cricket either so it's been a swap.

"It took my mind off everything really which was a good break from cricket. Marriage has come at a good stage because it's at the end of my career. After cricket my first focus will be family and having kids."

The break gave Martyn time to reflect on what went wrong during the ill-fated 2005 Ashes campaign.

It wasn't the first time he'd been dropped after he walked into the Test team at Dean Jones's expense in 1992.

Being made the fall guy for the bitter Ashes defeat hurt but also gave him a glimpse into life after cricket.

The view from the other side didn't look as bad as he feared.

"I always knew there was a chance I would be dropped because we lost the Ashes and I hadn't performed well," Martyn said. "You get bad decisions but I tried to stay positive coming out of it, I didn't want to go off the rails and say things about selectors.

"After what happened I don't fear the sense of being dropped, I'm not scared of it any more because I've been through it a few times now. I haven't thought about how it's going to end or when it's going to end.

"I feel like I've had a great career regardless now, I've come back from a lot of setbacks and made runs everywhere."

Don't mistake the new Martyn for a lack of drive.

He knows a mountain of Ashes runs and revenge over England this summer will be a glittering footnote to a 65-Test career.

"I'd like to be standing there in Sydney regaining the Ashes because I was part of losing it," Martyn said.

- BEN DORRIES