Marcus Trescothick announced today that he won’t take part in any England duty for the timebeing, ruling himself out of the Twenty20 World Cup and the Winter tours to New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Despite being in good form for Somerset, he expressed his concerns at playing for England and wanted to be sure that he was completely over his stress-related illness before playing again.
Quite right too. There’s been so much fuss over the team recently and we’re finally getting some stability. Peter Moores is doing a good job at the top. Micheal Vaughan seems to be over the …read more

After Marcus Trecothick’s epic departure from the Ashes, which was the catalyst for the England top order’s abject failure to score anything like a decent total ever since, he’s put the cat amongst the pigeons once again by showing us exactly what we’re missing in the side at the moment. After surgery for a double-hernia and presumably a recovery from the mystery stress-related illness that kept him out of the Champions Trophy as well as the Ashes, Tresco’s first outing for Somerset wasn’t a gentle run about in the park – it was a brutal annihilation who was foolhardy enough …read more

Wow, we’re flying through them now. First Jones gets the nod over Read behind the stumps, and now we know that Cook, Bell and Collingwood will play in the side, since Marcus Trescothick’s pork pie has rolled off his picnic blanket again and decided to depart early from Australia. Harsh? Maybe.
Trescothick is citing the same reason’s that forced him home early from India and to miss the Champions Trophy – a miscellaneous stress-related illness. At the time I questioned whether he should still be considered for selection for the Ashes, but he assured everyone he was ready to play …read more

Another ODI gets underway between Pakistan and England today – this time at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge. This series feels like it’s been going forever. And with the result already pretty much decided (at best England can now only draw the series, or “save” it, as described by England captain Andrew Strauss) even though Pakistan will be looking for a 4-0 whitewash.
The biggest controversy seems to be over the selection of Marcus Trescothick who recently ruled himself out of the ICC Champions Trophy. The team won’t be announced until shortly before the start of play but it poses an interesting conundrum …read more

As if the injuries to a handful of key players wasn’t enough, Fletcher et al now have to contend with Trescothick pulling out of the Champions Trophy. On the face of it, it doesn’t seem like a big deal, because the Champions Trophy is a waste of space, and the result will be mostly marginal compared with the tournament that follows it – The Ashes. What is most worrying about Tresco’s withdrawal is the frighteningly Graham Thorpe-esque nature surrounding it. Trescothick has previously provoked public criticism by returning early from the India tour with “undisclosed medical concerns”. Several statements are …read more