After being diagnosed with meningitis just over a week ago, former Australian batter Damien Martyn has recovered from an induced coma and is making a “miraculous” recovery.
The 54-year-old, who played 67 Test matches between 1992 and 2006, was taken to a hospital in Queensland on December 27 after falling ill.
Close friend and former Australia teammate Adam Gilchrist said on Sunday: “It’s been an unbelievable turn of events in the last 48 hours.”
Former wicketkeeper Gilchrist claimed Martyn’s condition was “so positive” that medical staff thought he might leave the intensive care unit based on the “how great recovery it’s been and how quickly it has flipped around.”
The protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord are infected with meningitis. If not treated right away, it can suddenly start to kill in hours.
Gilchrist and Martyn’s family thanked Gold Coast University Hospital’s staff, who “were nothing short of amazing throughout this difficult time.”
The turnaround has been miraculous, he said, “but he will continue to be treated in the hospital.”
According to his wife Amanda, Martyn’s condition improved as a result of his efforts to recover from his injuries. He is in “good spirits and overwhelmed by the support,” the statement continued.
Martyn, who made his Test debut at age 21 and participated in four Ashes series victories on an average of 46.37, scored 4 406 Test runs throughout his career.
Before the third test of the 2006-07 series, he won two World Cups with Australia and retired.
Martyn scored an unbeaten 88 in the 2003 World Cup final against India, playing with a broken finger.
Martyn also had a strong one-day international batsman, accumulating 5 346 runs in 208 games on average at 40, including 5 hundred and 37 fifties.
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- Australia
- The Ashes
- Cricket
- 31 December 2025
