Marcus Trescothick is suffering from what the England hierarchy call “a stress-related illness”. He has only recently come to terms with his diagnosis and is still in mid-treatment. Can the selectors risk him? They have accepted that they can’t for the Champions Trophy in October, and I don’t see how they can for the Ashes in November. If Trescothick was in top form, it might be worth the risk, but he isn’t, and wasn’t last time round in Australia (average 26, top score 72). The management just can’t be confident that he will be up to it.
England will miss his genial solidity, his big hands at first slip and his ball-polishing skills more than his batting in its current distracted state. The one-day team perked up immediately when he stepped down, and there are ready-made replacements for him in Tests – Alastair Cook can open, Flintoff should be back at slip. Trescothick needs a break. Give the poor man the rest of the year off and tell him to come back refreshed for the one-day marathon that runs from January to April.
Watching Ramps this summer, the choice seems to be a no brainer. Just having the option of bringing him into the side makes the team more dangerous. Also there is the the revenge factor. I think Ramps is finally ready to face his Test cricket demons.
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Tim de Lisle is a former editor of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, Wisden.com and Wisden Cricket Monthly, where he won an Editor of the Year award in 1999. He is now a cricket columnist for The Times and Cricinfo. A former feature writer on The Daily Telegraph and arts editor of The Independent on Sunday, he writes about rock music for The Mail on Sunday and was shortlisted for Critic of the Year in the British Press Awards 2005. He plays cricket in the park with his children, bowling mediocre offbreaks.
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