{"id":10461,"date":"2025-12-31T10:01:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T04:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=675951"},"modified":"2025-12-31T10:01:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T04:31:14","slug":"damien-martyn-australias-2003-world-cup-final-hero-placed-in-induced-coma-who-is-the-former-cricketer-and-what-we-know-about-his-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/cricket\/damien-martyn-australias-2003-world-cup-final-hero-placed-in-induced-coma-who-is-the-former-cricketer-and-what-we-know-about-his-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Damien Martyn, Australia\u2019s 2003 World Cup final hero, placed in induced coma \u2014 who is the former cricketer and what we know about his health"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Former Australia cricketer <strong>Damien Martyn<\/strong>, a key member of the country\u2019s golden era and a hero of the <strong>2003 ICC World Cup final<\/strong>, has reportedly been hospitalised and placed in an <strong>induced coma<\/strong> after being diagnosed with <strong>meningitis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The update on Martyn\u2019s condition was shared by former Australian Football League (AFL) player <strong>Brad Hardie<\/strong>, with <em>The Guardian<\/em> reporting the development. Speaking to <strong>6PR<\/strong>, Hardie said the 54-year-old \u201cis in for the fight of his life,\u201d adding, \u201cLet\u2019s hope he can pull through because it\u2019s really serious.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>What we know about Damien Martyn\u2019s health<\/h3>\n<p>According to reports, Martyn fell ill on <strong>Boxing Day, December 26<\/strong>, and was admitted to a hospital in <strong>Queensland<\/strong>. He has since been diagnosed with meningitis and remains in a serious condition. No detailed medical bulletin has been issued publicly, but former teammates and the Australian cricket fraternity have expressed concern and support.<\/p>\n<p>Several of Martyn\u2019s former colleagues have sent messages wishing him a speedy recovery. <strong>Darren Lehmann<\/strong>, who played alongside him for Australia, urged Martyn to \u201ckeep strong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Former Australia captain <strong>Adam Gilchrist<\/strong>, a close friend, told <em>News Corp<\/em> that Martyn is receiving the \u201cbest of treatment\u201d and that his family is aware of the prayers and messages coming in from across the cricketing world.<\/p>\n<p>Cricket Australia chief <strong>Todd Greenberg<\/strong> also expressed his concern, saying, \u201cI\u2019m saddened to hear of Damien\u2019s illness. The best wishes of everyone at Cricket Australia and in the wider cricket community are with him at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Who is Damien Martyn?<\/h3>\n<p>Damien Martyn is regarded as one of the most naturally gifted batters Australia has produced. He represented Australia in <strong>67 Test matches<\/strong> and <strong>208 One-Day Internationals<\/strong> between <strong>1992 and 2006<\/strong>, scoring <strong>4,406 Test runs<\/strong> at an impressive average of <strong>46.37<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Martyn played a crucial role in Australia\u2019s <strong>2003 World Cup triumph<\/strong>, producing one of the most memorable innings in a final. Batting with a broken finger, he scored an <strong>unbeaten 88<\/strong> against India in Johannesburg, helping Australia secure a dominant <strong>125-run victory<\/strong>. The knock cemented his reputation as a big-match performer.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the World Cup, Martyn was also instrumental in Australia\u2019s historic <strong>2004 Border-Gavaskar Trophy win in India<\/strong>, where he was named <strong>Player of the Series<\/strong> after delivering match-winning performances on the subcontinent. Known for his elegant stroke play, he was also an excellent fielder, particularly in the covers, and a handy occasional fast bowler.<\/p>\n<p>Martyn retired from international cricket in <strong>2006<\/strong>, midway through that year\u2019s Ashes series. He briefly worked in cricket commentary before choosing to step away from public life and live more privately.<\/p>\n<p>This is a developing story, and further updates on Damien Martyn\u2019s condition are awaited.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Australia cricketer Damien Martyn, a key member of the country\u2019s golden era and a hero of the 2003 ICC\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250,"featured_media":32944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4057],"class_list":["post-10461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket","tag-top-stories"],"reading_time":"3 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}