Unsung heroes in ODI World Cup victories
There are several instances to recount from the past when players didn’t get sufficient recognition for their humongous efforts in their team’s World Cup triumphs.
1. Damien Martyn
Australia were a formidable force in the 2003 World Cup under Ricky Ponting. They won all 11 games in the competition and became the second team after the West Indies to defend the World Cup title successfully. Ponting led the team from the front as he notched up 415 runs with two tons and concluded the series as the highest run-scorer for his side in the marquee event.
Ponting got the support of Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds, and Damien Martyn to reinforce Australia’s batting unit. Martyn, who used to bat at number four, supported Ponting in important games in the tournament. In Australia’s one-sided 96-run win against Sri Lanka in Super Six, Martyn notched up a half-century and supported his captain Ponting, who continued his attack on the opponents and notched up a magnificent ton.
In the final against India, Martyn was the player who continued the onslaught on Indian bowlers after the fall of openers Gilchrist and Hayden. Standing in the middle, he built a 234-run stand with his captain. Australia hammered India by a huge margin of 234 runs and Ponting became the Player of the Match for his extraordinary 140-run innings of 121 deliveries. Martyn’s 88-run contribution is remembered by Aussie cricket team supporters but modern cricket fans aren’t aware of the middle-order batter’s role in Australia’s remarkable triumph.
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