Legendary Australian cricketer Damien Martyn has miraculously awoken from a life-threatening coma in his ongoing battle with meningitis. Martyn was taken to a Brisbane hospital in a critical condition after becoming unwell on December 26. The fifty-four-year-old man was subsequently put into an induced coma after his health worsened.
Recently, Martyn’s wife Amanda revealed the former cricketer is making good progress with treatment. In another big update, Martyn has now come out of his coma and is expected to be moved out of ICU soon. Martyn’s close friend and former Australian teammate Adam Gilchrist gave an update on his health, describing it as a miraculous recovery.
“There has been an incredible turn of events in the last 48 hours. He is now able to speak and respond to treatment. He has responded extremely well since coming out of the coma to the point where his family feel it is almost a miracle. It has been so positive that they hope he will be able to move from ICU to another part of the hospital, which reflects how remarkable the recovery has been and how quickly things have turned around,” Gilchrist told Code Sports.
Gilchrist also thanked the fans and the wider cricket fraternity for their continued support during this difficult time for Martyn and his family.
“He’s in good spirits and overwhelmed by the support. There’s still some treatment and follow-up left, but it’s looking positive. His wife Amanda really wants to tell everyone she believes the love, goodwill and sense of care they’ve felt from everyone, through the news and press reports, has really helped him. They feel blessed so many people wanted to support him and they continued to need him in hospital, but they stayed in care. Miraculous,” he added.
Messages of support poured in for Martyn amid his declining health from across the cricketing world. Former India batsmen VVS Laxman and Ravichandran Ashwin were among those who sent their prayers. Former Australian teammate Darren Lehmann and veteran broadcaster Jim Wilson also shared messages of support.
Martyn made his debut in international cricket during the Test against the West Indies in Brisbane in 1992, scoring 36 and 15 in two innings. Over the course of his career, Martyn became known for his elegant move play and went on to play 67 Tests and 208 ODIs for Australia.
The right-handed batter was an important part of Australia’s middle order during their dominant era from the late 1990s to the 2000s. Martyn was also part of Australia’s World Cup winning campaigns in 1999 and 2003.
He was also Australia’s leading run-getter in their Champions Trophy win in 2006, scoring 241 runs from five innings at an average of 80.33, including two fifties. Martin he also played a significant role in Australia’s historic 2–1 Test series triumph in Indiahe finished as the highest run scorer of the series with 444 runs.
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Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
January 4, 2026
