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It is not always a compliment to be described as "a bit different" - as euphemisms go, it belongs on the same shelf as "she's got a great personality".
But with Chris Martin a case can be made for vive la difference.
The 33-year-old has remained one out of the box since he made his debut for New Zealand as an angular, some would say awkward, seamer against South Africa in 2000.
In a sport that attracts Roundheads and Cavaliers equally, Martin has stood out with a slightly Bohemian air. When he arrived on the scene, there was the ponytail - a hairstyle never de rigueur in the cricketing fraternity - the roll-your-own cigarettes and the fact he was rarely far from a book. It is hard to think of many cricketers who managed that trifecta with such insouciance.
As Martin is quick to point out, the image he projected those days while not an act, was not a true reflection of himself either.
"I thought that [I was different] when I first started playing but that might have been a certain naiveté and arrogance on my part," Martin says from Northampton, where he is sitting out the three-dayer against Northants. "I look at most of these guys in the side now and they're really good mates and we share similar interests." Not many of them, though, are undertaking a degree in English and political science.
Where Martin and his "mates" share the same philosophy is on the subject of Old Trafford 101, or, how to lose a test from an un-losable position. Martin has always seemed so laidback that perhaps he can rationalise defeat even when there appears an absence of logic.
The question is simple: has Martin ever been so crushed after a defeat?
"No."
Even now, he is still getting to grips with the Manchester madness.
"The only way we could have lost it after posting an 180-run lead was by getting rolled for around 100, which is exactly what we did.
"To watch that unfold and then still walking out believing we could win and to go on and lose by six wickets is absolutely gutting.
"I'm normally the sort of guy who can walk off a field, wrap it up and walk away believing it was just another game of cricket, but I know this one will constantly seep into my thoughts for the next week or so. It doesn't just absolutely leave your system.
"If I know I've had a particularly bad day it will haunt me for a little longer but I can't say I had a terrible day. It was just one of those games where we played pretty well at times but, when we didn't, we took ourselves out of the game."
Martin is right. He wasn't terrible. On the last day he took the wicket of Michael Vaughan and could have had him earlier. He bowled well except to Andrew Strauss, which was strange given that Martin earned a dubious tag of being a bowler especially capable of troubling left-handers.
It brought to mind something his captain, Daniel Vettori, said. "With Shane Bond gone, sometimes Chris Martin needed the odd reminder how good he actually is, and how important he is to this to this attack."
Perhaps he is too laidback, too nice to lead the new-ball attack.
"I've always felt the perception of me has been that way, especially having someone in the side like Shane [Bond] with me at various times of my career. I've always relied on myself to be a reasonable consistent performer. That's been enough to keep me in the side for 42 tests. As far as being a spearhead, I have my moments where I can be a match winner, but as a bowling unit I'm one of the cogs that needs to be consistent and performing at a certain level. If we can all do that, which we did at times on this tour, we can be a pretty competitive outfit."
There he is, without even realising it, bringing a conversation about his prowess back to the concept of team and his role as a "cog". People like Sir Richard Hadlee and Fred Trueman could probably name every test wicket they took - and the order - you get the feeling Martin's already forgotten his last victim.
It raises the question of if he is guilty of under-selling himself.
"Absolutely," he admits. "I suppose that secretly I've always rated myself but I'm not outwardly one of those guys who promotes himself or shows himself in the best light. I'm a reasonably humble sort of chap.
"At times I could let it go a bit more, it might even help me on the park. I could be a bit more outwardly confident and arrogant and that could unsettle a few people, but if it doesn't suit you then I suppose you've got to roll with what you've got."
It doesn't really suit him. Back home and over here he fired verbal shots at Strauss and the England team in general for what he perceives to be a slightly sniffy, patronising attitude to New Zealand cricket. All power to him but it was a surprise to the media following this team that the comments were from Martin and not, say, the more outwardly feisty Brendon McCullum.
The mention of the wicketkeeper-batsman seems an appropriate time to mention the other great change in cricket since he started: the ability to earn loads of dosh. Martin might not be in McCullum's earning strategy but, with an offer from Warwickshire on the table, an Indian Premier League retainer, and a lofty position on the New Zealand Cricket contracts list, it's fair to assume he is not queuing up outside soup kitchens.
"It's been one of the highlights of my career to see guys in my side being able to draw those sorts of sums of money out of the game. We've always played against other teams with million-dollar cricketers in their side and it's been a great step forward for us professionally, and the exposure that it brings from having guys like that playing for us."
The chances are it will keep Martin in the game longer too, and that can only be good news.
"There's a few scary scenarios floating around the place that it will either keep you in the game longer or pull you out of it quicker. If you love playing for New Zealand then this money is going to keep you in the game longer. Basically all your stresses are taken away and you can concentrate on doing the thing that you love which is playing with the black cap on your head."
And when it finishes, what does life hold for 'Tommy' Martin?
"I'm not sure exactly where we're all heading when we finish this game but I've got a few mates who are doing various things around the place.
"Some are into viticulture and I've looked into that as a path I could head down but at the moment the cricket's going to dominate for the next few years at least, then I'll have to make a decision."
He's no pompous wine buff though. Not yet, anyway.
"It's probably better to say that I've decided a nine-to-five office job is probably not for me and I've always wanted to do something where I can travel somewhere and then stay for a while as opposed to cricket where you're constantly moving.
"Perhaps a couple of years in Europe or South Africa learning about wine, that would be pretty cool."
