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Dropped Martyn has 'nothing to prove'

Damien Martyn says he has nothing to prove despite being told by Merv Hughes, the newest Australia selector, to re-find his form in state cricket

Cricinfo staff
23-Sep-2005


Damien Martyn believes it will take something special to be part of both the Test and one-day teams again © Getty Images
Damien Martyn says he has nothing to prove despite being told by Merv Hughes, the newest Australia selector, to re-find his form in state cricket. However, Martyn, who was dropped from the Test side on Tuesday, said something "extra special" was needed for him to add to his 61 appearances.
The Australian reported that Martyn signed a two-year Cricket Australia contract before the Ashes and as a long-term figure in both Tests and ODIs was ranked its No. 5 player. "It hurts in the sense that I've been playing Test cricket in the last four or five years where I've done it all, particularly the last 18 months," Martyn told the paper. "I was averaging almost a century every second Test so this has been my first hiccup in that period."
Martyn believed the five-Test series had made his slump stand out more than if it was over three matches. "This just shows that once you're at a certain age that it's an unknown," he said. "I'm 34 next month and the World Cup is in 18 months so I don't know what's going to happen. You've got to be honest with yourself. It would almost be something extra special to get back [in the Test side]."
While Martyn was shocked with his dropping - he felt he was more likely to miss the one-day team - he was disappointed with Hughes' public comments. "I'm not going back to play for WA feeling I've got anything to prove," he said. "I'm going back to WA hoping to help some young kids there, put back in, and hopefully see some of those young WA guys play for Australia. That's the next stage for me."