Yesterday, England were granted a three-day extension to name their final squad of 14 for the Champions Trophy. And today’s news is that Marcus Trescothick has opted out.
He left England’s tour of India earlier this year due to a virus, although speculation was rife. But the medical reasons behind his latest omission are ambiguous at best:
A spokesman from Performance Healthcare, the specialists treating Trescothick, said: “After his return from the tour of India in March, Marcus sought specialist help for his ongoing symptoms. In addition to the deleterious effects of the acquired gastrointestinal infection on his health, it later became evident that he was also suffering from an underlying stress-related illness.
“He has been receiving specialist treatment, which has allowed him to resume his position in the England team. However, we believe that it would be premature for him to tour India in October. Rest is an important part of his treatment and he will need recovery time before the Ashes tour of Australia which begins in November.”
I hope he’s left alone and the media don’t hound him, although if he pulls out of the Ashes – please God no! – there’ll be no stopping them. All very confusing, and a huge blow to England’s fledgling one-day team.
Apparently, your link says you’re not kidding. Ah well. I hope that the media do leave him alone, because I’d hate to think that anything would prevent him from playing in the Ashes. Maybe he just doesn’t like India? Hoping against hope here. See, I just don’t care about the Champion’s Trophy. It’s sad, but I feel that I’m not alone in saying – it’s a fake World Cup, it serves as nothing more than a money earner and as far as I’m concerned, I’m watching only to see how we play against the Australians. Maybe Trescothick’s absense will mean Cook will get to bat against them before the big time. Though, no Shane Warne. See, positives in everything, right?
Right. What happenned — a premptive strike of the dodgy prawns? Trescothick is a bloody joke.
Emma would you care if England were actually any good in ODIs? I mean I wouldn’t be interested too if my team played like amateurs and won fuck-all, so I can understand.
BTW, can’t wait to the English team beaten to a fine pulp when you come down here for the Ashes. Looking forward to Trescothick’s gastro-intestinal “problems” used as excuse when things go pear-shaped come December.
There isn’t exactly much prestige in winning the ICC Champion’s trophy, and there is no chance we’re going to. What I’d like to see would be a couple of games with a settled XI. Injuries are one thing, but we can’t seem to settle with a line-up, and that’s just disruptive. But when the XI we’re starting with will not be our World Cup XI, or even particularly close to it, even that doesn’t particularly matter. So I do care – I got into longer forms of cricket through one-day cricket after all.
But I’m looking forward to the Ashes – where, I’m going to suggest we will be at the very least a lumpy, resistant pulp. The one-dayers that follow that will hopefully be more representative of our final XI and against arguably the best one-day team in the world a very real judge of character.
tresco can’t stand india.. simple as that.. doesn’t want to spend a month there.. can be no other reason to skip india twice with vague reasons being given.. obviously he can’t come out and say he can’t stand india.. so he has to come up with these lame excuses… as a pakistani i don’t blame him.. wouldn’t be able to stand india myself.. hehe.. i’m only joking..india is alright… certainly not bad enough for tresco to treat it like a hell hole..
I think ‘hadn’t done well in a one day tournament since the last champions trophy’ might be a better turn of phrase than ‘won… all’ Sunny.
Anyway, Trescothick isn’t a joke, I personally saw him score a measured 90 (something ?) at Edgbaston against the Australians last summer and he looked pretty composed against some hostile bowling from Lee et al.
I was also there for the …JONES….BOWDEN….KASPROWICZ THE MAN TO GO ! moment at the end. Hope it’s not so close this winter, nerves can’t stand it.
I called Trescothick a joke for his lame excuses. He is a competent batsman but England won’t miss him or his batting. I think the best example of how clueless the English ODI strategy is the fact that the touring party will not have Monty Panesar. That pretty much sums it up. Looking forward to Alastair Cook though.
Also why does the ICC require the teams to be named a month before the tournament even starts? Its ridiculous. What happens to folks who show some form in the meantime?
I don’t think anyone in the current England side, has ever or will “get lots of runs down under”. Vaughan was the sole exception but he is in a different class anyways.
With a gastrointestinal infection, he’ll get plenty of runs down under. Biddly-dom tish, etc.
In fairness, when a member of my family went to India, things didn’t completely clear up in that department for another six months or so, although she was fairly out in the wilds.
I’m backing Cook to get a stack of runs this winter, personally. Provided he can cope with Warne, the boy will do great; he can even score centuries when blatanty out of nick.
Besides, look at the This Time Last Year bar… Essex smash 500 against Australia. On the subject of which, I’d give Ravi Borapa a crack at the Yardy/Clarke position.
1) Tres now looks thinner than ever. Keeping weight off is not a big issue anymore
2) Starts strongly in series, but as pressure mounts – he looks more lethargic.
Here is some comjecture: Tres has been diagnosed with some kind of chronic GI malady that has been brought on by extended periods of stress over the last 8 years: My bet is either Chron’s disease or Colitis.
He can function OK, but it gets tougher and tougher over time. And the reason why the explanations have been so murky are that actual diagnosis of GI diseases is very tough, with long periods of improvement followed by sharp declines.
Why do I know so much – I am married to someone who lives with the disease – that was brought on by stress in her late 20s.
Best of luck Marcus. Hope they get the diagnosis right…
I like the sound of that too. It sounds like a very convincing, medical description of what I thought was going on namely…
Trescothick, is a good, honest, straightforward bloke from the West Country, who’s talented with the bat and works hard. Obviously he’s not into cricket for the fame and fortune, a la Pietersen. Less obviously, you never hear him in interviews talking about how he dreamed of playing for England after watching Botham’s Ashes and that he’s living the dream.
I think he’s a down-to-earth, top quality bloke who through hard work has got himself 90(?) Test caps, an average of over 40, and never been dropped. The reality is I think he wasn’t prepared for a life of 8 months out of 12, living in hotels, missing his very young kid & wife, and all the various other pressures. When was the last time he had three consecutive weekends of a few pints of Magners with Blackwell on a Friday night, Soccer AM, a spot of DIY and a trip to Tescos? For a man with the background, character and upbringing that he’s got – who prepares you for that?
He’s a fine man – and I’m sure he’ll be fine at the top of the order in Brisbane. Justcoz’s call sounds very convincing. And I agree – best of luck Marcus.
I agree – there is definitely something wrong with Marcus and he definitely doesn’t deserve some of the harsh comments writtn by some here! Alec stewart said very cryptically today ‘I don’t think anyone can understand what Marcus is going through at the moment’ – work that one out?? it seems everyone in cricket knows – but no1 else! I was thinking there was something wrong with his child – maybe not reading some posts here. Anyway – FACT – tres is a world class opener and will b back bashing Brett Lee whatever aging bowlers the aussies can muster in oz in november.
I agree that Trescothick is a top bloke who should be just left alone to get better and play as much cricket as he feels he can, rather than ridiculed. The players aren’t machines, they’re human beings with their troubles and their good times, which are played out before the public eye, which makes them doubly stressful. There seems to be this macho mentality around that if anyone shows any sign of weakness, like stress or ill-health or homesickness, then they’re a joke.
It may well be that travelling to India would seriously aggravate his gut. It seems to with a lot of people.
But I do agree with Sunny in my puzzlement at why squads have to be named so early. Not only for the Champions trophy but for the Ashes too. Why name your Ashes squad in mid-September for Chrissakes? Anything could happen in two months. Is that to give the players time to pack, or time for the opposition to make a “plan” for each of them?
I agree…that sounds like a convincing medical explanation. So if it is just a straight forward colonic/stress related ilness (its common knowledge for example for IBS to be stress related) why dont they the ECB simply quash any rumour/speculation and say exactly that. The PR team at the ECB have learnt nothing from their mistakes they made in March when he came home from india.
Now as a result..cricket fans are left pondering whether there maybe other reasons for his pulling out…if the poor guy is suffering from depression or has marital problems which necessitate he spend some time at home before the ashes…then again a simple statement saying he’s staying at home for family reasons would nip any rumour mongering in the bud.
I think it more probable that its the latter but he’s being very badly advised either way and the ECB are being disengenous.
Trescothick is being treated like he’s a bloody war hero!! Being a top class sportsman is a dream for most people and a privilige for those who make it into the international team. So he’s stressed, well he’ll be able to retire soon, with a big fat bank balance. Maybe he should get a job with the emergency services, he’ll find out what stress is then – He won’t see much of his family, risk life and limb and have to work 30 years before he can retire on a small pittance. He should get a grip or opt out and allow someone else in who enjoys the job and everything that goes with it.
I’m not expecting his weaknesses to be justified – as an english supporter I just expect the right man for the job. If he can’t hack being a top class cricketer at present and all the ‘hardships’ that go with it maybe he should stay at county level. The England set up is too soft, the Aussies would drop any player who does not give 100 per cent to the team (for whatever reason) without question and that’s why they are a consistently successful team. No player is bigger than the team!!!
Agree with your last sentiment, Julie, but I don’t agree with the concept that the Aussies would drop a player who wasn’t giving 100 per cent. Before the Ashes it was a widely held view that it was harder to get out of the Australian team than into it (am I right Scott, Elliott?); after all it took an Ashes defeat for the likes of Hussey and Hodge, quality players knocking on the door for the best part of a decade, to get a look in.
This, I believe, is borne of the desire to have consistent team selection and is something Fletcher et al have striven to achieve during their tenure, something to be commended IMO. Furthermore this needs to be seen in the context of what happened with English selection in the 80’s and 90’s when the England XI sometimes was more like a Barbarians XV (ie a scratch side) and England, in the words of a certain M Atherton, won F*** all.
Having said all that, I would not now play Trescothick at Brisbane for the following reasons:
He is bang out of nick
Now the Aussie crowds know he has a stress related illness they’ll be merciless.
Someone’s got go to go from the current top six when Fred comes back (assuming they stay with 5 bowlers).
His form on the last Australian tour was sketchy at best.
Proffesional sportsmen cant suffer from depression, they should get a job in a hospital…that real stress..bla bla..its always the same…you hear these idiotic and insensitive views being aired when someone in the public eye is having personal problems…it was the same when Stan Colleymore was going a through a breakdowm ,and its just bone headed. The facts: 1. Just because Marcus Trescothick has a job most people would give their right arm for doesnt naturally make him, although its possible he could be…a self indulgent character or not grateful for the position he’s in. 2. Its wrong to make a link between someone’s proffession or their material wealth and correlate that with someone’s mental stability. I suggest Julie, you research the amount of stand up comedians and lottery winners who suffer from depression. 3. Depression and anxiety and even marital problems are a naturally occuring phenonema in human beings, thats what marcus is, he’s human. He just happens to be a uniquly gifted cricketer.4. Anxiety is completely individual. As predisposed Marcus and Stan Colleymore are to exhibiting rare gifts..as predisposed they are (possibly) to anxiety and mental health problems.
Thinking out loud…if players can literally pick and choose which tournaments to play – are central contracts really the way forward? Surely that contract is a 2-way agreement to play for your country when you are called? And Marcus *is* needed…
Last year’s triumph aside, has Vaughan, Harmison, Flintoff, Jones, Hoggard and Tres given value for money this year? I’m not criticising – just wondering what others think?
Hope he makes a full/sustained recovery. Chrohns/Collitis = awful affliction to manage (I believe Sir Steve Redgrave suffers recurring collitis…)
Sez[I think that's it-very bad definition]raises some interesting health points and seems to know to something about it.Patient confidentiality prevents me from saying much but as a life long health professional if he couldn’t hack it in ‘bugland’for a few weeks[where might I add much derided players have]he woudn’t last five minutes working in a hospital.Trust me.
I may sound hard but surely if you are an international player you can’t expect to keep your place no matter what. If you’re not performing well for whatever reason – be it injury or bad form – you must expect to be replaced until a time when you are able to give 100 per cent.
I would just like to add that it doesn’t help when players complain about playing too much cricket/ home sickness etc. but don’t even get me started on Harmison!!
Julie, don’t you think loyalty plays any part in a team’s cohesion? The players aren’t automatons — they are human beings operating at a pretty high stress level under conditions of enormous public attention. Sure they are recompensed for it, but people handle it in different ways. The reason players’ foibles are tolerated and pandered to, is that they are worth it to the team. When he’s got it happening, Harmison is one of the scariest in the world. To tell the truth, the fact that he gets homesick makes him more interesting to me, than if he were just a fastbowling automaton. I’d rather they were human beings with weaknesses, rather than sporting machines.
Oh Dear.Julie v Kathy.As a humanist I agree with both the compassion bit but also ‘the cushy job bit’.Please someone correct me if I’m wrong but professional cricketers are not in the popstar/footballer/ tennisplayer/snooker or golf league are they? It’s the old ’short career’syndrome except I thought they had guidance/councillors to find new careers[I mean how many more can become pundits/commentators] which is more than most of us get-It’s the dole or go on IB and get branded as a scrounger[by the drogues].Some,Like Lawson from Oz[optician] and our own G.Jones-sort of,anyway[pharmacy technician]are very wise,and there must be many others-look them up.Any way the squads have been chosen now [1st in Chris got it about right] so lets have a big row about that.WEBMASTER!
Thanks Woodyway, and I 100% agree with you kathy. Julie is hard hard hard. Why SHOULDN’T harmison suffer from homesickness…im not going to repeat my point about trescothick/mental health -but Harmison happens to be a member of the human racea as well. And its not that he’s ‘complaining’ about homesickness as if he’s being lazy or being unproffessional or lacking in moral fibre in some way, its just that it naturally occurs in him from time to time -in the same way he sometimes gets a soar back. Julie’s views may have been popular around 1945 but thankfully civiliation has matured and evolved.
Also -cricketers like Trescothick and Harmison dont grow on trees. To put it bluntly they’re pretty irreplacable -you cant just replace them with someone else and expect the same results. We’re not that good that we can start leaving out our best players.
Dont worry John Boy – just feel sorry for him, he’s probably an unevolved type, probably not very bright, probably hasnt got a girlfriend..and more to the point…is obviously eaten up with a lot of hatred, which says more about him than it does about trescothick….the type of person who probably got a fit of giggles when jones ruptured his knee ligaments, or cracks open a beer when he hears of another iraqi casualty in iraq…yeah, a real sicko.
Thankfully cricket doesnt get any of this kind of hatred…we leave that for man utd vs liverpool, or glasgow vs celtic…but leaving cricket aside for a moment, as i wouldnt wish what tres has gone through on any of the oz’s…its best to just feel sorry for people like that and hope they grow up one day..
And I dont know of course…but Im guessing he probably still lives with his mum.
Tres is a fine bloke. He is however still very immature. Do not confuse batting talent with maturity. He is currently surrounded by mature men. Mackenzie, Caddick, Langer, Cook and Hurry and as a consequence he will get by. Somerset will be 1st Champions next year because of this team. Tres in the meantime will reap the rewards of a bumper benefit in 2008. After 2008 his career for County & Country will blossom for 3 more years. Tres will get his England place back.
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