Martin Kent facts for kids

Martin Francis Kent, born on November 23, 1953, is a former Australian cricket player. He played in three Test matches and five One Day International (ODI) games in 1981. He also played many games for the Australian XI team during a special cricket event called World Series Cricket. Famous cricketer Greg Chappell once said Martin was "one of the best homegrown talents Queensland has ever had."

Martin Kent: A Cricket Journey

Early Life and Cricket Beginnings

Martin Kent was born in North Queensland, Australia. He grew up in a town called Monto from when he was four until he was fourteen. When he was young, he thought he was a better bowler than a batsman. He even made the State Schoolboys team for Central Queensland.

When Martin was fourteen, his family moved to Brisbane. Soon after, he started playing top-level cricket for a team called Sandgate-Redcliffe. For one year, he took a break from cricket to play baseball with the Redcliffe Whitesox team.

Starting His First-Class Career

In the 1974–75 cricket season, Martin scored 140 runs in his very first game for Queensland. This was a fantastic start! He then scored 76 runs in a Gillette Cup game.

Later that season, playing was a bit tougher for him. However, he still managed to score 58 runs against Western Australia. He also scored 59 runs against South Australia. The next summer, he hit 103 runs against South Australia and 101 runs against Victoria.

Playing in South Africa

Martin often batted alongside the famous cricketer Greg Chappell. He received an invitation to tour South Africa with a special team called the International Wanderers. This team included big names like the Chappell brothers and Dennis Lillee. Martin was the only player on the team who had not yet played international cricket.

Martin got married just before the tour and spent his honeymoon there. He remembered, "We got time off to go travelling and sightseeing." He added, "And in a funny sense, it wasn't a bad honeymoon."

Martin played very well on the tour. He scored 55, 67, 52, and a big 155 runs. He ended up scoring the most runs for the International Wanderers on that tour. He made 398 runs with an average of 56.

In October 1976, a writer named Jack Fingleton believed Martin would join the national team. He called Martin a "glorious strokemaker." However, Martin did not get into the Australian team for the 1976–77 season. Even though he scored 122 against the touring Pakistan team and 82 against South Australia, other players were chosen instead.

World Series Cricket Adventures

Ian Chappell, Greg's brother, was impressed by Martin's batting in South Africa. He offered Martin a contract to play in World Series Cricket (WSC). This was a new, exciting cricket competition. Martin first said no because it meant leaving his job at a transport company.

However, the owner of his company, Sir Peter Abeles, was friends with Kerry Packer, who was funding WSC. Sir Peter insisted that Martin sign with WSC. He even let Martin keep working at his company part-time with his full salary while playing cricket.

Martin had some great innings for the WSC Australians. He scored 40 in a game with low scores, then 58, and a fantastic 110 runs. Because of this, he was chosen for the second "Supertest" against the WSC West Indies team. He replaced Doug Walters in that game.

Martin kept his spot for the third Supertest. He scored 43 and 40 runs, helping Australia win the game. In the fourth Supertest, he made 10 and 31 runs. His score of 31 was Australia's highest in the second innings of that game, which Australia lost.

The next summer, Martin toured with the WSC Cavaliers XI team. He had a tough time at first, but then he scored 114 against the World XI team and 55 runs. He eventually returned to the Australian XI team for some one-day games, with a top score of 62. Martin was back in the Australian XI Test team for the final Supertest against the World XI.

Martin also toured the West Indies with the Australian XI. He played in all five Supertests. He scored 9 and 30 runs in the first game, which Australia lost. Then, he hit 109 runs in a one-day game for Australia.

In the second Supertest, Martin scored 78 runs in the first innings. In the third Supertest, his 45 runs in the second innings were very important. They helped Australia recover from a tough start and win a famous game. In the next two Supertests, Martin scored 51 and 28, and then 40 and 0.

Back to Traditional Cricket

At the start of the 1979-80 season, Ian Chappell thought Martin could play in the important number three batting spot for Australia. He said Martin "performed with credit in the West Indies at number three."

Martin had a mixed season in 1979–80 and did not score a first-class century. However, he had an excellent domestic season in 1980–81. He scored 941 runs with an average of 58.81. Highlights included scores of 77, 171, and 68 against Tasmania. He also scored 78 and 101 against South Australia.

He scored 41 runs in the McDonald's Cup Final, helping Queensland win the game. For his great performance, he won the Man of the Match Award. Martin was chosen for the Australian one-day team later that summer. He scored 12, 33, and 4 runs in those games.

The 1981 Ashes Tour

Martin Kent was selected to tour England in 1981 for the Ashes series. Greg Chappell decided not to go on the tour. At first, Kim Hughes thought Martin was the most likely player to take Greg's spot at number three. However, Martin struggled in the early games. Trevor Chappell scored 91 runs, which put him in the running for the spot. In the end, Trevor was chosen, and Martin became the 12th man.

Martin was the 12th man in the famous third Test, which England won. He eventually found his form, scoring 92 runs against Worcestershire. This earned him a spot in the fourth Test over Trevor Chappell, who became the 12th man.

Martin became one of Australia's best batsmen in the second half of the tour. He scored consistently. He made 171 runs in total, including a fifty as an opener at The Oval. He scored 46 and 10 in the fourth Test, 52 and 2 in the fifth, and 54 and 7 in the sixth.

End of His Cricket Career

Martin started the 1981–82 season well, scoring 92 runs for Queensland against the touring Pakistan team. He was chosen for the Australian team for the first Test against Pakistan in 1981–82. However, a serious back injury forced him to withdraw from the game. He took a break from cricket for the rest of that season. In August 1982, he decided to retire from cricket completely.

Martin later explained his retirement. He said, "People say I retired because of a back injury. There's nothing untrue about that, but it wasn't the only reason." He added that the injury made him think about his future. He realized that even after World Series Cricket, there wasn't much money in the game. He couldn't see a clear path to earn enough money from cricket for his future.

In his 64 first-class matches, Martin scored a total of 3,567 runs. His average was 36.03, and his highest score was 171 against Tasmania. He was also a very good slip catcher, taking 60 catches in his career.

Life After Cricket

Martin briefly returned to cricket in April 1987 for a charity match. He scored 67 runs, but his back was in severe pain the next day.

In the early 1990s, Martin worked as an assistant coach for the Queensland cricket team. Later, he managed a pub in Toowoomba. He also worked as the secretary manager of the Queensland Cricketers' Club.