To put my spin on the Martyn thing.
I see where all parties are coming from here.
On one side of the coin Martyn has been reliably accumulating runs in both forms of the game , he's often put the team before himself & curbed his natural game when the side was in trouble & he's had a habbit of making the runs when they were most needed.
His test form has been solid but not spectacular over the last 24 months , although he did miss the two easiest series from a batting point of veiw.
His ODI form in the same period has been peerless , with a solid VB series against South Africa & the Kiwis , he was good at Nairobi & played very well in the ICC trophy , had a good run against England & Sri Lanka in 2002 with a hundred at Perth , was great in the world cup , firing when it mattered most.
Then he hit a thrilling 90 odd from 50 odd against Bangladesh & his play in the TVS cup was the best Ive seen from him in ages , then all of a sudden he seems to have hit a bit of a wall this VB series , now I honestly dont think his form is that bad , he's not had luck going his way , when lucks on your side you'll get a good ball & play & miss at it.
But today & at Sydney he just managed to knick em.
They wont drop him just yet , a player of his record & with such a faultless ODI record over the last 2 years wont be dropped just like that , and rightly so.
As for the longer form its dicier , he has looked solid & again has tended to make them when they are needed most , an average of 40 odd is pretty solid & it continued in that vain against India , solid but not spectacular.
Now number 4 is a key spot , and at number 4 in the lineup you need to be converting a certain proportion of your starts into three figures , now lately the media (and Craig :P ) have made no secret that he isnt doing that.
But I dont think its as bad as some people would have us beleive , he made a great 95 at Adelaide Oval last summer & looked all set for a ton before Waugh declared at the Gabba in December.
I certainly dont think Marto is "skating on thin ice" , he is consistently making scores & not looking awfully troubled , he's also making them when they are most vital.
The fact he bails the team out alot but isnt often going on to big scores means that naturally few notice his good work & thus when he suffers even a minor slump the media is gonna be all over him.
If they were gonna drop a batsman to play 5 bowlers then he would unfortunately be the man ATM , but he's a lot further from the axe , in both forms of the game , than some seem to think right now.
BTW guys probably best we stay on topic a tad more here
ig: 
