An all-weather operator

For a player who has often been unpredictable with the bat, Damien Martyn's numbers are remarkably consistent. Leaving aside Bangladesh, against whom he played only one Test, Martyn averaged between 37 and 62 in Tests against all teams, with his 61.57 against Pakistan being the highest; in all four continents he averaged in the 40s; his home average of 46.86 was only very marginally better than his 45.98 overseas (including three Tests at neutral venues); and he averaged 45.22 in the first innings and 48.65 in the second. That, in essence, sums up Martyn the Test player - at ease in all conditions, on all kinds of pitches, and against all bowling attacks. (Click here for Martyn's career summary in Tests.)

Martyn's Test career can be neatly compartmentalised into three categories - his first seven Tests, played when he was a callow youth in his early 20s, brought him ordinary results. Worse, that second-innings waft at Sydney against South Africa when Australia failed to get to the target of 117 relegated Martyn to six years on the sidelines. When he returned, though, in 1999-2000, he was more refined and mature, and the change in approach brought him spectacular success. His average touched 50 in his 15th Test, and then stayed over that mark between Tests 20 and 26, briefly reaching the dizzy heights of 57.25. It touched 50 again in 2004-05, but a poor Ashes run brought it down significantly, and three more failures in the ongoing series ensured that he ended with the average closer to 45 than to 50.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Martyn's batting was the manner in which he conquered the turning tracks in the subcontinent. For a batsman bred on the hard and bouncy WACA pitch, he adjusted remarkably well to wickets with lower bounce, and tackled the best spinners with soft hands, quick footwork and astute judgment of length. In eight Tests in India and Sri Lanka Martyn struck four centuries, including two outstanding knocks in 2003-04 against the might of Muttiah Muralitharan. As the table below shows, his average in these two countries is exceptional. (And incidentally, he happens to be the only right-hander in the top six.)

Not surprisingly, Martyn has achieved a fair degree of success against all the top spinners. Anil Kumble has better stats against him than anyone else, while Ashley Giles has good numbers against him as well, but Martyn has had the better of most of the other spinners.

His stats against the fast bowlers, on the other hand, is mixed. Thanks to his lean run against England in the 2005 Ashes, most of the current crop of England's fast bowlers have excellent records against him, while Shaun Pollock has reduced him to a strokeless wonder - Martyn has scored at less than two runs per over against him.

Martyn was more than just a Test batsman, though. His calm and assured run-accumulation in the middle order was a vital ingredient of Australia's ODI successes too. Unlike some of the other modern-day biffers, Martyn's preferred method of getting the runs was considerably less violent, but he still got them at 77.73 per 100 balls, which compares well with the scoring rates of Ricky Ponting (79.25) and Matthew Hayden (75.81). Moreover, when Martyn scored runs, Australia usually won - 37 of his 42 fifty-plus scores came in wins, in which he averaged 52.46. In defeats, it dropped to 21.88. As a matchwinner, Martyn slots in at No.3 among all Australian batsmen who have figured in at least 50 wins, and is behind only Michael Bevan and Dean Jones.

When asked to react to Martyn's retirement, Ponting responded thus: "He is one of the world's most unsung players in both forms of the game and I don't think it is really understood how good a player he actually is." Ponting clearly wasn't overstating the facts.