End of IPL for Damien Martyn

Damien Martyn, the former Australian batsman, has headed home after being excluded from a trimmed Rajasthan Royals squad. He played only one game in the tournament after being surprisingly picked at the IPL auction, despite being out of top-level cricket for several years.

"By the time you read this I'll be heading home," Martyn wrote on his blog. "The Rajasthan Royals squad has been trimmed to 19 players and it looks like allrounder Shane Watson might join us next week. That's the nature of professional cricket and I knew from the start what my role in the squad was and how this might happen."

Martyn, 38, made a scratchy 19 in his only IPL appearance, against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, before being dropped for the next couple of games by Rajasthan. "I enjoyed my IPL debut last week and even though it wasn't the best result (19 off 24 balls) it's ironic that ever I was to play it had to be against the best bowler in the world. Dale Steyn, bowling 155kmph."

He also hinted that he was through with playing, and was looking at coaching opportunities. "I have enjoyed my time as a player but going forward I'm looking forward to new roles around the group, like all past players, getting my notebook out, sitting in the dugout and scribbling away."

Rajasthan made a poor start to the tournament, losing their first three matches but have bounced back with two victories in a row.