From Football Gloves to Cricket Whites: Nigel Martyn Eyes Dual International Status

From the Goalpost to the Crease: Nigel Martyn's Cricket Dream

Nigel Martyn built a distinguished career between the goalposts for England, earning 23 international caps across two World Cup campaigns. Now, well into his late 50s, the former goalkeeper is pursuing an achievement that would place him among the most uniquely accomplished sportsmen in English history — becoming a dual international in both football and cricket.

A Rare and Celebrated Club

The list of Englishmen to have represented their country in both football and cricket is extraordinarily short — just 12 individuals — and their names evoke an era of sporting romance long since passed. Legends such as Denis Compton, CB Fry, and Tip Foster all claimed that rare distinction. The last man to achieve it was Arthur Milton, who played his first Test match in 1958, a full seven years after earning his solitary football cap against Austria.

Martyn is now on the cusp of joining that exclusive group.

A Love for Cricket That Never Faded

Despite spending his professional career focused on football, Martyn's passion for cricket never disappeared — it was simply put on hold. The demands of professional goalkeeping meant that playing cricket during the summer months was strictly off-limits, given the very real risk of hand and finger injuries.

A stress fracture in his ankle during the latter stages of his career led him to believe he might never play cricket competitively again. However, after receiving medical clearance around 2011, he returned to the sport with renewed enthusiasm.

"It's pretty special," Martyn told BBC Sport. "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. I retired with a stress fracture on my ankle so I didn't think I was able to play cricket again. But I got the all-clear to do it in about 2011 so I started playing again."

A Football Career Worth Celebrating

Born in St Austell, Cornwall, Martyn's football journey began at Bristol Rovers in 1987 — a break he secured thanks to an unlikely recommendation from the club's tea lady, Vi Harris, who brought him to the attention of then-manager Gerry Francis. From those early beginnings, Martyn went on to represent Crystal Palace, Leeds United, and Everton, accumulating an impressive 666 league appearances before hanging up his gloves in 2006.

At international level, he attended the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups but remained an understudy to David Seaman throughout, never making an appearance at either tournament.

The Road Back to Cricket

Martyn currently plays club cricket for Scarcroft CC, located just outside Leeds, and previously helped Knaresborough CC earn promotion to the North Yorkshire Premier Division alongside fellow former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

His pathway to international cricket recognition came through Cornwall's age-group structure — a commitment that demands an 800-mile round trip from his Yorkshire home for each match.

"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," Martyn explained. "We last played when we were together with Cornwall Schools Under-15s. From there Cornwall recommended me to England."

Earning His Place on Merit

Despite his considerable sporting reputation, Martyn received no special treatment when he attended England Over-60s trials at Loughborough University earlier this year. He was assessed purely on his cricketing ability as a wicketkeeper — and he made the cut.

Following an intra-squad fixture, Martyn was selected for the England Over-60s 'Lions' squad, an emerging player pool that supports the senior side. He officially turns 60 on 11 August, a date that — by a matter of days — rules him out of this year's Over-60s Cricket World Cup in Canada, which begins shortly before his birthday.

Nevertheless, his sights are firmly set on future World Cup selection.

Transferable Skills and Shared Passion

Martyn credits legendary England wicketkeepers Alan Knott and Bob Taylor as major inspirations, and acknowledges that goalkeeping and wicketkeeping share more common ground than many might expect.

"Because I wanted to be a goalkeeper, I also wanted to be a wicketkeeper," he said. "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. I've had several thousand of those things happening to me in my life. So I can seem to get my hands pretty much in the right place most of the time."

On the standard of the competition, Martyn has nothing but admiration.

"The batting and bowling standard is really, really high. The fielding is the one area where it gets more difficult, but there's still blokes in their 60s diving around stopping the ball — it's quite incredible to watch. I just love playing. If you're going to play into your 60s and 70s, you've got to love it. I love the camaraderie that you get."

With a Cricket World Cup appearance in his future plans and a place in sporting history within touching distance, Nigel Martyn's second act is shaping up to be every bit as compelling as his first.