Nigel Martyn spent the best part of a decade as one of the better goalkeepers in the Premier League, earning 23 England caps, and going to two World Cups with England. Two decades after his retirement from professional football, he’s about to pull on an England shirt again, just not the one you might expect.
The former shot-stopper was a Premier League stalwart throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, starring for Leeds United and Everton in the top flight. David Moyes, never a man to dish out praise lightly, once described him as his best signing during his first spell as Everton manager.
Nigel Martyn
His international career was equally impressive, albeit permanently shaped by the presence of one man. For the entirety of his England career, David Seaman stood between him and a regular starting place. Martyn was at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, both times watching from the bench as Seaman started.
He did feature for his country in the famous 2002 World Cup qualifier against Greece though, the day David Beckham curled in arguably the greatest goal of his career to send England to the tournament.
Martyn retired from international football after the 2002 World Cup and hung up his gloves for good in 2006, goalkeeper gloves that is.
A Safe Pair Of Hands Between the Sticks, and Now Behind The Stumps
Nigel Martyn
According to The Sun, Martyn has been named by England 60s Cricket in the England Lions squad at the age of 59, where he’ll represent his country as a wicket-keeper.
What very few people knew was that Martyn had another sporting string to his bow entirely. Growing up in Cornwall as a Plymouth Argyle fan, he’d played cricket for Fowey Cricket Club and Cornwall Schoolboys, and upon retiring from professional football, he turned his attention to the game seriously. He even turned out alongside fellow former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson at Knaresborough Cricket Club.
It’s hardly a surprise to see a goalkeeper turn out to be a handy wicket-keeper. The same qualities that made Martyn such a reliable presence between the posts, sharp reflexes, safe hands, and composure under pressure, translate rather well to life behind the stumps.
Fabian Barthez taking to the skies for France in the 1998 World Cup final
He’s not the first footballer to discover a second calling in sport after hanging up his boots, and he’s far from the most unusual example. Fabien Barthez, the France World Cup winning goalkeeper whose eccentricity was as much a part of his game as his reflexes, swapped the penalty area for the race track, competing in the Le Mans 24 Hour race in both 2014 and 2016.
Curtis Woodhouse, the former Sheffield United and Birmingham City midfielder, reinvented himself entirely as a professional boxer, eventually winning the British light-welterweight title.
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And then there's Gabriel Batistuta, one of the most feared strikers in the history of the game, who retired from football in 2005 and took up polo. Against that company, a former Premier League goalkeeper becoming a wicket-keeper feels pretty conventional.
Earlier this week, Martyn was named in the 26-player squad for their summer fixtures, which will include matches against Scotland, Wales and the England 50+ team. Over two decades after pulling on an England football shirt for the last time, he’s back representing his country in a totally different arena.