KEY POINTS:
PERTH - Australian test batsman Damien Martyn dropped a cricket bombshell yesterday when he announced his retirement six days before the third Ashes test in his hometown, Perth.
Martyn, 35, had been under pressure to hold his spot after scoring just 35 runs in his three innings as Australia took a 2-0 lead in the series.
He told Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland he no longer felt sufficiently committed to the game.
"I feel therefore it's time for me to move aside," he said.
Uncapped West Australian batsman Adam Voges was last night named as Martyn's replacement.
Martyn played 67 tests for Australia, scoring 4406 runs and 13 centuries, and twice fought his way back into the team after being dropped by the selectors.
Martyn thanked his Australian teammates and captain Ricky Ponting for their support.
But he conceded his surprise decision might put some of his colleagues off side.
"I said to myself when I made this decision in the last 48 hours that I may lose friends in doing what I'm doing," he said. "But I also said to myself that if I stayed doing what I was doing I might equally lose respect for myself and the friendship of those around me who are entitled to expect from me more than 100 per cent."
Martyn made his test debut in 1992 against the West Indies at the Gabba but lost his place the following season.
He spent six years out of the test team but regained his place during Australia's tour of New Zealand.
He cemented his position in the team during the 2001 Ashes series, when he scored his maiden test century at Edgbaston.
He went on to establish himself as a permanent member of the side, batting at No 4, which included an outstanding 2004 when he scored six centuries in a calendar year.
But he lost his place again, after the 2005 Ashes series loss in England.
He returned to the team during this year's tour of South Africa, where he scored a match-winning 101 in the first test at Johannesburg. His five innings since that century yielded just 56 runs.
Martyn averaged 46.38 in his 67 tests with a highest score of 165.
He also played 208 one-day internationals for Australia, scoring five centuries.
- AAP
