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Intrigue grows after Martyn disappears

Source: The Age - December 10, 2006

Damien Martyn might just have completed the greatest vanishing act in the history of Australian sport.

A day after shocking teammates and coaching staff by retiring from all forms of cricket, Martyn was understood to have left for Hawaii yesterday with his wife, Annika, to avoid the hype generated by his announcement.

As of yesterday morning, Martyn's best friend, Ricky Ponting, had still yet to hear from the West Australian, despite sending him messages. Martyn's manager, Colin Young, had not established any form of contact with his client since Friday afternoon. "I'll speak to you in two weeks," Martyn told Young, heightening speculation that he had left the country.

Martyn had been in Sydney since the Adelaide Test, lying low in the wake of his announcement, which came barely a week before his hometown Test in Perth. His phone lines appear to have been disconnected.

Those close to Martyn believe that his decision to retire was not sealed during the Adelaide Test, but came the day after. On the eve of the second Ashes Test, Martyn had discussed business plans with his manager for the period before the 2007 World Cup. That tournament, most felt, was likely to have been Martyn's last. In anticipation of that swansong, Martyn's family were in the process of researching prices for flights and accommodation in the Caribbean right up until he announced his retirement.

It now seems that Annika was the only person with whom he discussed his retirement plans. No member of the Australian team had been made aware of his decision, and his business associates were told less than an hour before he sent his resignation letter to Cricket Australia's chief executive James Sutherland.

According to sources within the Australian team, Martyn had all but decided to retire two years ago, around the time that he was reprimanded by Cricket Australia for "flipping" camera crews in Melbourne. On that occasion, Ponting played a leading hand in convincing him to play on. Martyn, apparently, was determined not to let external influence cloud his thinking on this occasion.

Frustrated by the constant scrutiny over his place in the Test side, and craving for the "normal" life he has never known, Martyn, 35, sent an email to Sutherland at 11.15am on Friday confirming his retirement, citing waning motivation.

Several players, in retrospect, believe Martyn hinted at retirement in the aftermath of the Adelaide Test. In a conversation with a Cricket Australia employee in the dressing rooms, he talked briefly about retiring on his own terms.

Martyn was very much the ringleader during Australia's post-Test celebrations in Adelaide. After leaving the oval, the players and support staff congregated in the bar of the Holiday Inn and partied into the night. Shane Warne brought his iPod down from his room, and Martyn played disc jockey.

He was among the last to leave, and spent much of the evening with his arms around teammates, celebrating the win over England which could clinch the Ashes.

Martyn has been described as a reclusive, private and somewhat mysterious man by past and present teammates, yet he remained a popular figure within the Australian team.

- ALEX BROWN