MELBOURNE, Jan 14: Australian Test discard Damien Martyn has not yet given up hope of fighting his way back into the team for their upcoming tour of South Africa.

Although he admitted winning back his Test berth is a bit of a long shot, the 34-year-old batsman said on Saturday he felt fresher than he did three months ago, when he was dumped after a poor Ashes tour of England.

And it has shown in his batting.

Martyn produced an excellent start to the limited overs stage of the summer, having smacked 96 from 56 balls in last Monday’s Twenty20 win over South Africa, and 70 from 64 in Friday’s tri-series win over Sri Lanka.

Last year Martyn all but conceded his Test spot was gone for good, but now he is not so sure, aiming for at least a place as the reserve batsman in the Test squad.

“I’m still looking to play both forms of the game and still keen to, and after this series if I can play well I’d love to go on that tour for both sides,” he said.

“I haven’t given up. I’m still contracted to play. I’m not retiring from Test cricket in that sense.

“I admit that it’s going to be hard to get back. There’s a slight chance of getting back in. I’ve got to make a lot of runs and probably expect a few things to happen.

“It’s not my main focus. If I get picked to go to South Africa, it will be a bonus and I’ll just take it and go with it.”

Although being dropped last September after 61 Tests was painful, Martyn said his break from constant travel had helped him refresh and refocus.

“After the Ashes tour and playing for so long in both forms you are tired and mentally probably a bit exhausted of being on the road and playing top-level cricket,” he said.

“So being at home and playing state cricket and just being in your own house and doing normal things has freshened (me) up and it’s freshened up the guys who don’t play both forms.”

Martyn’s knock yesterday included two of the lucky breaks that might have saved his Test career.

The right-hander was caught off a no-ball and then dropped next over. His luck in England was not so good, when he was twice judged lbw after getting inside edges at Old Trafford and Trent Bridge.

But Martyn, whose Ashes series yielded only 178 runs at 19.78, said he could not blame those dismissals for his Test sacking.

“That’s disappointing that you lose your spot, but I don’t look back on it and dwell on those decisions costing me my spot,” he said.

“I had other chances in other innings and didn’t make enough runs.”—AFP