Damien Martyn has been taken out of his induced coma and is now awake and talking after being hospitalised on Boxing Day due to meningitis.
His long-time friend and former state and national teammate Adam Gilchrist said in a statement that it had been “an unbelievable turn of events in the last 48 hours”.
“He is now able to talk and respond to treatment.
“He has responded extraordinarily well since coming out of the coma to the point where his family feels it’s like some sort of miracle.
“It has been so positive that they’re hopeful he will be able to move out of the ICU into another part of the hospital which is representative of what a great recovery it’s been and how quickly it has flipped around.”
Gilchrist said Martyn’s family wanted to express their gratitude for the countless well-wishers who have reached out during his scary hospitalisation.
“He’s in good spirits and overwhelmed by the support. There is still some treatment and monitoring to go but it’s looking positive,” Gilchrist said.
“His wife Amanda just really wants to say to everyone she is convinced that the love, goodwill and sense of care that they felt from everybody, via messages and via the coverage in the press really helped him.
“They just feel blessed so many people have wanted to support him in his time (of) need.
“He will remain in hospital and continue to receive treatment but the turnaround has been miraculous.”
The 54-year-old was hospitalised and placed in an induced coma after he fell ill on Boxing Day.
Damien Martyn in action at the Basin Reserve in Wellington in 2005. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)
Born in Darwin and a star for Western Australia throughout his career, Martyn is considered one of the finest batters of his generation with a silky smooth technique which brought him 4406 runs at 46.37 in 67 Tests, scoring 13 centuries, as well as 5346 in 208 ODIs for Australia, averaging 40.8.
Considered a prodigy as a teenager, he made his Test debut at 21 in the memorable 1992-93 series against the West Indies and after being dropped the following summer after a careless shot in the narrow SCG loss to South Africa, he spent several years in the wilderness.
After re-establishing himself in the team on the tour to New Zealand in early 2000, he became an integral part of one of Australia’s most successful eras before he retired midway through the 2006-07 Ashes series after the spectacular win over England in Adelaide which clinched the urn.
Damien Martyn (second from left) with Brad Hodge, Michael Clarke, Darren Lehmann, Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist after their team’s victory over India in the third Test at Nagpur in 2004. (AP Photo/Aman
In one-day cricket, he was a key part of the 2003 World Cup-winning squad, smashing an unbeaten 88 in the final win over India in Johannesburg while combining with Ricky Ponting (140 not out) in a match-winning partnership of 234.
After retiring, Martyn has kept a low profile apart from brief stints in the media as an analyst.
Martyn, who lives on the Gold Coast, regularly posts on social media and put up a couple of videos of himself looking fit and healthy previewing the third Test in Adelaide.
He has also appeared on the Crispy Chats podcast recently with co-hosts Gareth Philpott and Jase Alpen, commenting on the Ashes series.
The Roarhttps://www.theroar.com.au/2026/01/05/feels-like-some-sort-of-miracle-martyn-out-of-coma-on-the-road-to-recovery/‘Feels like some sort of miracle’: Martyn out of coma, on the road to recovery
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