August 07 Wednesday 2002
Damien Martyn new face of Australian cricket 

PERTH: Damien Martyn, the star Australian all-rounder with the Hollywood looks, is the new face of Australian cricket for this summer. 

Martyn, 30, has been chosen to feature in a promotional campaign for the one-day series against England and Sri Lanka, the Australian Cricket Board said here Tuesday. In material advertising the series, the explosive right-handed batsman is pictured executing one of his customary pull shots. 

The decision to select the Western Australian underscores his increasing standing in international cricket after he spent six years out of the national team in the 1990s. 

But Martyn said he believed he had been chosen ahead of glamour batsman-wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, the Australian Test vice-captain, because Gilchrist was already over-committed. 

"I suppose the feeling may have been that people get sick of seeing Adam Gilchrist's face everywhere in the world, so they have changed it around a little bit and given me a go, which is fantastic for me," he said.

The move comes ahead of a hectic Australian summer schedule (winter in the northern hemisphere) which also includes an Ashes series against England and next year's World Cup defence in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Martyn has made a stunning return to international cricket. 

He averages 50.29 runs an innings from his 25 Test matches, and 39.28 at a strike rate of 78.68 from his 97 one-day internationals. The international one-day series starts on December 13 with Australia taking on England in Sydney.