A New Chapter for Nigel Martyn
Nigel Martyn, the former England goalkeeper, is now chasing a new international dream in cricket. Nearly 20 years after retiring from professional football, Martyn has found his way into England’s Over-60s setup and may become one of only a few athletes to have represented England in both football and cricket.
At 59, Martyn, who earned 23 caps for England during his football career, recently attended trials for the England Over-60s team at Loughborough University. He was subsequently selected for the England Over-60s ‘Lions’ squad, which serves as an understudy to the senior side.
Martyn’s Football Career
Martyn’s journey in football began in 1987 with Bristol Rovers, where he was recommended to manager Gerry Francis by the club’s tea lady, Vi Harris. He later moved on to Crystal Palace, Leeds United, and Everton. Throughout his career, he made 666 league appearances before retiring in 2006 due to a stress fracture in his ankle.
Despite not being the first-choice goalkeeper for the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, Martyn was part of the England squad on both occasions, serving as an understudy to David Seaman.
Martyn shared his feelings about his football career with BBC Sport:
“It’s pretty special. Obviously as a professional goalkeeper I wasn’t allowed to play cricket in the summer, as it would threaten breaking fingers and things like that.”
Cricket Return After Retiring From Football
After receiving medical clearance in 2011, Martyn returned to playing cricket. He currently plays club cricket for Scarcroft CC near Leeds and was previously with Knaresborough CC. During his time there, he played alongside Paul Robinson, a former England goalkeeper.
Martyn’s inclusion in the England senior team setup came about because he played county age group cricket for Cornwall. He explained:
“My good friend Sean Hooper, who was the captain of Cornwall Over-50s, spoke to me about six years ago asking if I fancied playing for Cornwall. We last played when we were together with Cornwall Schools Under-15s. From there Cornwall recommended me to England.”
Despite living in Yorkshire, Martyn regularly makes an almost 800-mile round trip to Cornwall to play matches. He added:
“It’s a long trip but being able to go home and see family more often was always the added bonus with it as well.”
Wicketkeeping Skills Still Sharp
Martyn is a wicket-keeper, and he claims that several skills from his footballing experience have transferred to the area behind the stumps. He mentioned that his two heroes, Alan Knott and Bob Taylor, were among England’s most famous wicket keepers.
He said:
“Because I wanted to be a goalkeeper, I also wanted to be a wicketkeeper. There’s some transferable skills of hand-eye coordination and I’m sort of used to a round object being either thrown or kicked at me.”
World Cup Dreams Not Over
Martyn will celebrate his 60th birthday on 11th August, which means he will miss this year’s Over-60s Cricket World Cup in Canada, as the tournament started on August 2nd. However, he still hopes to be the English wicket keeper at a World Cup again.
He said:
“That would be great. I trained with the two wicketkeepers picked for the World Cup and they are both excellent. They’re in spot at the moment, and I’ll just keep doing my thing.”
