Australian cricket great Damien Martyn is “progressing well” in his recovery after being placed into an induced coma amid a battle with meningitis.
The 54-year-old right-hand batter, who played 67 Tests for Australia, fell ill suddenly late last month and was rushed to a Gold Coast hospital, where he remains.
“Damien is progressing well with his medical treatment,” Martyn’s partner Amanda said in a statement to News Corp.
“We would like to thank everyone for the incredible outpouring of support our family has received.
“We also want to express our deepest appreciation to the medical team at Gold Coast University Hospital who have been nothing short of amazing throughout this challenging time.
“This has been a trying time and the family ask that you respect their privacy.”
As recently as Christmas Eve, Martyn had been posting on social media about the ongoing Ashes series before falling ill with meningitis – an infection and swelling of fluid and membranes around the brain and spinal cord.
Adam Gilchrist, VVS Laxman and Michael Vaughan were among the cricket icons to send their best wishes to Martyn.
Born in Darwin, Martyn earned a Test debut at 21 replacing Dean Jones in the 1992/93 home series against West Indies and was Western Australia’s captain at 23.
He was player of the series the last time Australia won an away series in India, topscoring in four of Australia’s eight innings at the crease in the 2004 battle for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
His Test high score of 165 came against New Zealand in 2005, one of 13 Test centuries Martyn made in the baggy green.
Martyn retired from Test cricket midway through the 2006/07 Ashes series, playing his final match at the Adelaide Oval that summer.
Martyn also played 208 ODIs, averaging 40.8 and scoring an unbeaten 88 runs as Australia defeated India in the final of the 2003 World Cup.
He dabbled in commentary during retirement but has mostly kept out of the limelight in recent years.
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