Martyn Gets The Willies

Damien Martyn announced the other day that he has retired from all forms of cricket with immediate effect. This is a most unusual thing to do. I’m not going to comment on how great a batsmen he was blah blah because he’s an Australian and there are plenty of other people who can do the ego-massaging. Nope, instead I’m going to jot it down to Damien Martyn being flat out scared. Of England.

That’s right. Australia are 2-nil up in an Ashes series. Englands bowlers have been rubbish thus far. Perhaps he figured that England had been holding back a bit, giving Australia a nice headstart and NOW they’ll start to play some cricket. Martyn got scared and ran away. It’s the only explanation.

(Failing that, it seems most likely that he was afraid of getting the arse from the team given his recent lack of form and that he couldn’t face being cut again since it would be a home test for him. So in true Graham Thorpe style, he ran away. Ridiculous. And what was sure to make him feel worse is when James Sutherland of Cricket Australia subsequently announced Martyn would have kept his place and he has just missed his opportunity to score runs in a home test and win the Ashes before retiring. Unlucky Damo.)

England can only open that causes a massive divide in the Australian side, removes their concentration and opens the gates for England in Perth. (The chances are but slim enough already.)