Print

Mail

wiki links

Trescothick says no to winter tour

Marcus Trescothick may have dealt a potentially terminal blow to his England career by ruling himself out of the whole of England's tour program for the winter.

Trescothick made his announcement just a fortnight after being included in England's provisional 30-man squad for September's inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, saying he'd yet to fully overcome the effects of a stress-related illness that has kept him out of international cricket for nearly a year.

Given that the left-handed opener is now 31, his decision has significantly reduced his chances of extending an England career which has so far featured 76 Tests and 123 one day internationals.

And with England unlikely to pick Trescothick at home until he has proved himself on tour, he now faces at least another 12 months in the international wilderness.

"It was relatively hard and it would have been a lovely situation to get back in this winter but I knew as the days went on and the way things were progressing that I wasn't quite ready for it yet," Trescothick said.

Trescothick revealed his wife is expecting their second child while England are away but said that wasn't the over-riding reason behind his decision not to tour.

England's chairman of selectors, David Graveney, said: "The selectors have been acutely conscious that it would be counter-productive to try to rush Marcus back into international action before he was ready."
This story has been viewed 719 times.