One has to feel sorry for Tresco though. I hope very much his international career isn't over and that somebody is able to help him deal with the demons. Surely somebody like Mike Brearley could be of help (if he hasn't already been tried). In the meantime, perhaps Mark Ramprakash could be persuaded to take off the spandex and put on the pads?

I agree with tim, i son't think he should be in ashes squad. He coudn't make a century against the aussies at home and the aussies will just do the same to him as they did last time england were here, what is his average in australia? twenty something? It's not good enough from an opening batsman.

Cook looks technicaly better and is a player who i think is more likley of scoring hundreds against the aussies but there is a risk of his inexperience being a weekness. But i would prefer to see him open the batting with struass.

I would have liked to have seen mark butcher in the squad aswell as he got into a bit of form during the end of the season and has made good scores against the aussies in past times.

Don't get me wrong i don't hate tresco, i do like to see him get good scores and i wish him all the best in his recovery, but i think england should look into the future, and whats best for the future.

It is a sad ending and you can never say , someone else might grasp their chance mean time. I wonder whether this would be a recall for Butcher or Ramps, either would suit with their respective records against Australia.
The last point you make is very good, I hope the media make it a point to put as much pressure on Fletcher to pick Panesar as possible, he is a real talent.

I must agree that perhaps Trescos loss is technically not going to be that great to the England team but this is yet another rope for the australians to tug in pre first test mind games could it be the australians have now got england one down before even an ashes ball has been bowled. The pressure is massive and the astralians are quite expert on playing the pressure game!
A concerned yet still confident Englishman.

Its a blessing in disguise that it has happened now and he might get over it after some time. In the worst case Aussies would have put some even deeper scars that would have ended his career. Mark Ramprakash seems to be a very good choice although he is not in academy squad and ECB would have to put some very good explanation for overlooking the likes of Shah and Ed Joyce.

Sorry for Marcus, but his career has been on the wane for some time. It was probably going to be a disadvantage to have him in the team anyway. Like many others, I agree with the folly of taking a plethora of "fast" bowlers and leaving Shah and/or Ramprakash out. Bell at 3 and Collingwood at 5/6 looks a weak team, before we contemplate Jones at 7 and no Panesar!

I think this may work as a blessing in disguise for England.Alistair Cook can do the job for England.I agree with Tim, completely, not a big loss.I don't think this will affect the result of the Ashes.

Trescothick was the best opener in the last ashes. Atleast on paper this makes things worse. Delusions about Panesar being the best England spinner in 40 years are more likely to do harm though. What is this nonsense based on? His sole 5-for (over 70 runs)? I've even gone back and looked at his dismissals of Tendulkar and Dravid in India. Tendulkar got a raw deal, while Dravid was out reverse sweeping in the final session of a drawn test! I wonder how such hysterical English sports journalism affects their teams.

You have been very kind to him Tim, and probably kinder to the board, I would call him an abuse dodger, he knows that Aussies will come hard on him and considering whatever he has gone through, he and the management decided running away is the best option.

This completes for me a simple answer, that concrete shoes(trescothick), is not good enough material mentally to be playing cricket in Australia, its a shame, but its really shameful that they cannot tell us what is really going on rather then mention mental stress for a cricketer, whose only job is to travel, play cricket(his childhood goal) and make money.

There are harder jobs in the world, if there is a valid reason, we need to know it, or my tag stays for me atleast, Ashes dodger.

As much as I sympathise with the nature of Trescothick, I agree that the timing of his withdrawal from the team could have been much worse. With Cook, Bell and Collingwood, the England team should not have difficulties replacing him. Owais Shah should really be considered as the replacement, because he hasn't been given the extended run that some other players, notably Jones, have been given in the team. Looking back to bring in Butcher and Ramprakash, however well intentioned, does not look to be the right approach.

I must confess that, as a practising psychiatrist myself, I am mystified as to what sort of disorder should suddenly manifest itself in such a way two weeks out from the First Test and lead to Trescothick's departure for the entire tour.

His lack of footwork won't really be missed, but this raises the alarming prospect of Collingwood batting at 5 against McGrath and Warne.

There are alarming signs of Fletcher omnipotence emerging now: Chris Read's omission is clearly not what Graveney and Miller wanted, and I suspect that Fletcher would consider Trescothick to be mentally brittle.

Michael Vaughan would be a terrific replacement for Trescothick though, wouldn't he?

I feel really sorry for Tres, and his family. However I felt he was fast approaching a walking wicket, and Strauss/Cook is fine, although that lets Collingwood back in and I don't feel convinced that he's anywhere a Test no.5. If anything I'd rather a Rob Key/Owais Shah specialist batsman came in. I fear it really shortens our order having Colly at 5. And ultimately negative Fletch could go back to Giles instead of Panesar, on batting alone. So actually, this news might be much more negative than I'd thought at first.

I thought he had a stomach virus and couldn't go to india?

Its disappointing. He is a great team player and its a body blow to England. Good Luck to him. From batting point of view, I agree that on current form, he would not have been a part of the playing eleven but that old saying"form is temporary but class is permanent" is absolutely true. In my opinion, if he gets through the new ball, he is a good player of spin. Alaister cook is a very good batter and now it might become a series of lifetime for him. If he can provide support to Strauss at the top order in getting good starts, there will be less pressure on Pieterson and Flintoff. Ian Bell too has to do well. In my view, the most important thing for the English side is to BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES. They don't need to win the series to retain the Ashes. So i am sure that this is a point Fletcher is missing. An extra batsman instead of an extra bowler would be a greater option.

Well. It is certainly not a very big blow to England in their preparation for the Ashes, but he will be no doubt missed in the slips where he is really good and not struggling off late.

England found a very good player (Alistair Cook) up the order and in my opinion it is a blessing in disguise as he would not be facing Shane Warne early in his innings as we saw him struggling against Danish Kaneria.

Beside all this England have to put a really great effort to defend the titile. I wish them good luck...

We're not still talking about Butcher and Ramprakash are we?

Personally, I'd prefer to see Shah batting in place of Collingwood (who isn't good enough at Test level), but I don't think that'll happen either.

Maybe the next bulletin from Vaughan will be received more sympathetically from Fletcher than the last one...

Regarding Trescothick - Tim De Lisle is right; you can't treat a mental illness as you would a physical one. However, I think Trescothick deserved to be given every opportunity to make this tour. It hasn't worked out, but at least there's a bit of time to spare. The probable Test team, for example, can still line up against South Australia.

I think Tim de LIsle has summed it up well - while I was shocked to read the news about Banger, I feel that it is a golden opportunity for the evolving England side to try a new opener.

Who knows if he would have scored many runs this series - I hope he would have as he has been a consistent performer since his international career began. I hope to see him recover properly and fight his way back like Thopey did.

Best wishes Tres.

We need someone flown out as cover. Ironically, I would advocate another player with a fragile temperament to come out; Mark Ramprakash. He's over his problems, has nothing to lose (apart from his place on Strictly Come Dancing) and stacks of runs under his belt.

The gamble on Tresco's mental fitness is one that you feel the England set-up were right to take given the scope of his experience. It does, however, beg the question of why a back-up was not on the plane when the team set off for Oz. Mark Ramprakash is a fine batsman who has consistently plundered county attacks into submission over the years, both at Middlesex and laterly with Surrey. But also consistently has failed to achieve any success in the Test arena and shouldn't be looked at as a possible draft-in. The recent policy of bringing youth through to the team has reaped rewards and should, if possible, be maintained. Owais Shah is a talent, but is it possible that Fletcher et al have concerns over his temprament? If so, who is the alternative? If, by chance we are to revert to an old campaigner to add some cover and experience, Butcher is the man for me. He's shown that he can fill the number three berth with aplomb and has, more importantly, scored Ashes runs.

Whilst we wait to see how England's management react to this issue, my other concern is over whether Ashley Giles is fit to play in any form of cricket currently, let alone Test match cricket in Australian cauldrons. Needing some lower order batting ability is no doubt an issue, but so far he's failed with the bat and by all reports has the turning circle of a supertanker.

As much as Tres should not have been in the XI for the Gabba test, it's not in circumstances such as these that anyone would wish to see him have to come out of the tour.
On the batting order question, on current form where does the greater risk lie - having Bell come in at 3 where he may find associations between that slot and Australia too much of a reminder of his difficult summer of 2005, or keeping him where he is and having Pietersen coming in earlier? Come to think of it wouldn't Paul Collingwood be suited to No. 3 since he has clearly demonstrated his worthiness with the bat as as Test player? It's not as if he needs to be brought in lower down because of any bowling duties that he has or will be fulfilling in the five-day game.

Now we will find out just how fit Vaughan is. Cover for Trescothick will be needed in case of further injury so the time for talking is over. Can Vaughan play any cricket in this series or not? I suspect not and the cover will come in the shape (and less shape than in previous years) of Kent's Robert Key. The game is up for Ramprakash and Butcher - England won't look to them again and I fear that they won't look to Trescothick again either, particularly if Cook delivers as an opener.

Trescothick's international career is over, I can almost guarantee it. I was fortunate enough to play against him at the start of this season and he was in good spirits with his family around him in his home environment back in Taunton. It is the international treadmill that caused this illness and as long as he is on it, I'm afraid it isn't going to go away. He will probably continue to play for Somerset, but I think the final curtain has come down on his international career.

On the subject of his replacement, it ought to be a straight choice between Shah who did well given an opportunity last winter and is a good slip fielder, and Key, who has the Ashes experience, wise head and popularity in the dressing room. Joyce is unproven and more of a lower middle-order batsman and the cover is required for the inexperienced Cook and the mentally fragile Bell, who now has enormous pressure on him stepping up to 3 against an opponent he dealt with so poorly in 2005. Personally, I think Fletcher and Flintoff will plump for Key

Calling up Shah or Ramprakash would leave us without a reserve opener in the squad. Despite the others scoring more runs last season, perhaps Rob Key will (or should) get the vote.

I do feel for Tresco, but you've got to ask why the ECB sent him there in the first place. If he was fit mentally 3 weeks ago to go to India, why on Earth would he be fit now to play the most demanding mental tour on the planet? Cook to open with strauss. How abut Collingwood at 3? He's got a steady temprament, not too flashy and not as succeptable as Bell to the early away-swinger. Got one more tour match to try it...

I think this probably is a blessing in disguise for England, for Tresco never seemed completely able to resume the battle against the aussies.
Alistair cook is inexperienced but young and talented and will surely make a marked difference to England's fortunes.
Btw why isnt Owais Shah here.. he was simply superb in India...
It baffles me to see that a gutsy player like him is no where at a place where actually such players r much needed..
Plus Why is Geraint Jones playing even though he regularly drops a catch or two and misses stumpings.... Quite Amusing to see a coach not ready to let go...
Time to get tuff for the English for the Aussies r not going to give them much chances anyway...

I've heard Key is the obvious replacement as he is an opener. Can't totally disagree, but surely Owais Shah's last test in Mumbai earlier this year showed his stunning ability - Boycott's verdict was that he was 'born to play Test cricket. Boyccs has been wrong, but this may be the last chance for one who has the necessary arrogance to go with his undoubted talent.

I've been really sympathetic abt MT's problems until now, but after today's news, I feel he's let the side down badly. Surely he knew he wasn't 100% on his game before the tour. An Ashes tour isn't the time & place to hope things will somehow work out ok. If he had any doubts, he shd have declined to tour. I wonder if this has anything to do with central contracts - are players afraid that if they own up to ongoing problems they'll be in danger of falling off the payroll? The management don't come out of this well either - again, there seems to be a pattern emerging of prolonged & recurring absences of key players. This makes me wonder if basic mistakes are being made in the area of diagnosis & treatment, whether the problems are mental or physical.

Is anyone really suggesting Mark Ramprakash should be allowed near a test match again? I'd rather send Boycott's mother out there in a pinny and armed with a stick of rhubarb than replace one mentally ill play with another mentally fragile one. We'll be fine with the players we have out there thank you very much. Promote Bell to number 3 and have faith my friends. That is our best chance. As Tim said at least now we don't have to drop any in form batsmen as we would have had to had Tresco stayed. Lets just hope this isn't the end for him. There aren't many players i enjoy watching the way i enjoy watching Marcus, the end of his career, whether it is now or in several years, will be a loss to us all and to the game of cricket. Now put that to the back of your minds and once more into the breach old friends: BRING ON THE AUSSIES!!!!

I agree with the sentiments that this is a very sad thing that has happened to Tres - you never like to see this happen to anyone.

I do feel that this will end his international career, as the seed is well sown in the mind of the selectors about his mental toughness. Even during the home summer he struggled in every test bar the first, and has not gone on the last 3 international tours. The selectors will want to gel a unit to play together for a long time, and you cant go on having an opener for matches in England, and then one to do the overseas tours.

I then pose the question - does this show some problems with the man managemnt within the English camp?? We all know what happened to Thorpey, you have this with Tres and Harmy seems to struggle overseas too, admitting homesickness. Should the players, or the senior officials be looking at something they can do to prevent this. Even if it is the tradmill of international cricket, no other team has the litany of players with travelling phobias that England do. Its time for the ECB to sit up and take notice.

As for a replacement, Owais Shah should get the nod. Talk of Ramprakash or Butcher is ridiculous - they have had plenty of opportunities, especially Ramps. Lee Mills makes a good point - in mental terms you gain nothing replacing Tres with Ramps. Rob Key is not a bad option either, although he seems to have struggled at times at Test Level, though he has not been helped out with selection decisions either.

Funny how a player that averages four runs an innings more than Mike Atherton can be rubbished so easily. If Collingwood can sort himself out as a reliable medium-pace Test bowler, then everyone's concerns about his value as a batsman might dissipate.

Really it's because he's considered an all-rounder but doesn't really bowl well enough that makes him a doubt in most people's minds. But he averages 41, which is far from bad. In fact, in the same number of Tests, he takes an extra 10 runs an innings more than Robert Key. Neither has a good record against the Aussies, but Collingwood’s defensive batting was critical in supporting Pietersen in the second innings at The Oval, even if it did only garner a handful of runs. His value to the team shouldn’t be discounted. It would also allow Bell to come in at number 5 or 6, a position much better suited to him than at the fall of the first wicket.

All England need now is for Collingwood to re-interpret his ODI bowling success in the Test arena. Imagine having a player who averages over 40 with the bat and under 40 with the ball!

Obviously bad news about Tres... but Cook will be a good replacement at the top of the order. I think Bell and Colly are both good, Test quality batsmen, who've played some good innings over the last year - I just think both inspire more confidence in the middle order. But you'd have to say that promoting one of them makes a lot more sense than putting in a Butcher or Ramprakash at the last minute. In terms of cover... some people debated who to "fly out" as his replacement - I understood that England have an entire Academy squad in Perth as cover for precisely this kind of eventuality. And not an academy squad of 19 year olds either, but basically their entire reserve 11. In that respect, not taking another batsman in the Test squad was not so much of a gamble.

Marcus Trescothick must be replaced by none other than Graeme Hick.

I agree, sadly, that this is a cloud that may have a silver lining. Trescothick has been a magnificent servant to English cricket, and given time, may recover fully from his illness. When he is in full flow there are few finer sights in test cricket, and no English opener has dominated attacks like he does since Gooch. Also Gooch and Boycott both came back after years away and became even more valuable players well into their late 30s. Trescothick is only 31, so all this talk of its over for him is ridiculously premature. However, as far as replacements, I'd like to see Bell left at no.6, or possibly swapping with Flintoff for the no.5 spot, and put Key in at no. 3. I've always liked Key - he has no shortage of bottle and will not let the Aussies dominate him. He did alright in Oz last time round, and his double against NZ in 2004 was a top knock.
I feel extremely frustrated by the other recent selection announcements, as I feel Fletcher, for all his strengths and achievements, has blind spots. Much as I like Giles, how can his potential 20 or so late middle order runs be weighed against Panesar's potential top order Aussie wickets? And how can Jones' potential few more runs be weighed against Read's obvious superior keeping skills? (I know Giles' batting was valuable in 2005, but maybe we'd have smaller targets to get if Monty was bowling.) It is a false economy to think that those possible extra runs when batting outweigh the smaller target of runs resulting from superior bowling and keeping. I already feel we are not putting out our best side, with Jones in as keeper. So my ideal pick would be Strauss, Cook, Key, Pietersen, Bell, Flintoff, Read, Anderson or Mahmood, Harmison, Panesar, Hoggard. If and when Vaughan returns, he would possibly replace Key (very big if!). DF - if you read this - whatever you do, please don't leave Monty out! He's a potential matchwinner, and we need those types.
Anyway, I can't wait for the Ashes to start, and I believe we can win the series.

Its certainly a blessing for the English team. No team can afford a player who's just not ready for a game of cricket. ECB-Please answer. Also someone please explain about this 'mystery' sickness which pops up only when the challenge is big & team needs you the most.

I thought England were planning to have a shadow Test team of 14 or so training and ready in Perth to provide any replacements needed by the Test team. This Academy consists of Ravi Bopara (Essex)
Stuart Broad (Leicestershire)
Rikki Clarke (Surrey)
James Dalrymple (Middlesex)
Steven Davies (Worcestershire)
Ed Joyce (Middlesex)
Robert Key (Kent)
Jon Lewis (Gloucs)
Graham Onions (Durham)
Matt Prior (Sussex)
Owais Shah (Middlesex)
Tom Smith (Lancashire)
Chris Tremlett (Hampshire
Mike Yardy (Sussex)

Presumably Tresco's replacement will be one of these. But WHY - if this was thought to be such a good idea - isn't the Academy there in Perth NOW? I guess the ECB in their usual wisdom assumed that no replacements would be needed until the Academy was up and running in Perth. It would be very funny if one player had to be rushed out from England when he could have been already out there, in training and time adjusted, but no calls had to be made from the Academy for the rest of the tour.

And on this "Academy" idea, the next time the Aussies tour England, will Lord's be happy to provide facilities for a 14-man shadow team in case the Australians need to call for a replacement?

Comments such as that of Andrew above illustrate exactly why people are afraid to ask for help and admit to mental illness. A person can be affected by stress and mental illness whether he is an international cricketer or a dustman - the context is different, and the underlying reasons are probably different, but stress and mental illness can still arise.

C'mon England! You made a believer outta me in 2005..and I'm not even an Eng fan. Your resurgance is good for the game. Flintoff will lead from the front and his charges will stand up and be counted. This team requires a healthy Fred. Pietersen, Strauss and Cook will grow in stature as cricketers by the time this series is over..win or lose. Panesar will only have steeled his character, which will bode will for the future. Robert Key is a good choice for Tresco (who I hope will sort things out) (How I miss Thorpie!) Lets go England! Show us some heart and Fight!!

Tim

Boycott has been proved right!!

DF and Freddie have just given Oz the first test, no matter who else is selected!!

Jones will bungle it, he already has in both warm-up matches and the first being a OD is no excuse for a glove man, especially now we will require a new first slip due to Tresco's absence.

There's no point playing Panesar if the glove-man can't get the stumpings or pouch the catches!! Who cares if Jones can make more runs than Read (based on Reads last three (TEST!!)innings Jones should have been playing out of his socks!!)When dismissals are missed due to ineptitude Bowlers lose faith. Where's the consistency we have so recently boasted about??

As for Tresco. It is a great shame reading these blogs that certain individuals choose to forget Trecso's wonderful and entertaining innings for England. His loss at this stage though is not too great. Others have been bloodied and England have the chance to replace him. Key would be an excellant alternative and many of the Aussies acknowledged his input in the previous tour.

I hope for Tresco's (and Englands) sake that he can recover his hunger for the game and rebuild his career.

The blame should sit with the management (see....Boycott right again!!) as to how Tresco has been forced to this public humiliation yet again. When stronger management could have avoided all this, sometimes the old adage "Cruel to be Kind" rings true and Tresco should not have been taken. His confidence will be more shaken now than in India and will also have caused some misgivings in the squad with the doubts over selection.

Are we sure it's not DF and Freddie that are now showing signs of mental brittleness??

Key is the answer in Trescothic's absence. And I am wary of so much faith being put in Panesar--he is a great up and coming slow bowler, with a potential to be even better--but truth be told, I see Giles as the better option for now, with both bat AND ball.

At leaast Tresco' has done the right thing and pulled out early to give Bell and Colly the chance to have a bat before brisbane. It does show how lopsided the squad looked,i mean what if we had wanted to play an extra batsman. Also, surely there has to be another warm-up game especially for a tour as important as this. It must be tough out there at the moment though. I'm glad i,ve had to stay at home in england in the rain!

The exclusion of Marcus Trescothick can prove to be a blessing in disguise for England as they will be able to play all three of their most successful batsmen of the recent past i.e Ian Bell,Paul Collingwood and Alistaor Cook.I think his absence will do more good to England than harm.Bell,Paul and Cook, all three are very good back foot players so they should score runs in Australia although it will not be very easy.

I am sick of people being critical of Tres for having stress, no ones had a go at Vaughan being abscent through illness. Hopefully there might be a positive to come out of Tres's misfortune and the public will take the time to research what stress is, thousands of people have to put up with discrimination because the lack of knowledge on this complex illness. You break your leg people can see your injury and you get sympathy, with cancer you often can only see the side effects of your treatment but you get the sympathy but there is a lot of people who suffer with mental illness who have to put up with the stigma that attaches itself with this nature of there illness. My best wishes go out to Tres and his family.

I am disappointed in seeing this happen. The ECB and the Selection team should have anticipated this possibility and guided Trescothick back into the English Cricket team after he has played some domestic games and in a home tour rather than in a high pressure Ashes series. While respecting Tres' performances over the years and his presence in the Team environment, I do believe that he is doing a disservice to himself and his masters the ECB and not to say the least to the English Cricket fans by his actions. He should have never ruled himself fully fit before the Ashes and come home crying before it even starts. Tres, please go back to County Cricket and sort your footwork out and use the break between the seasons to recover and win your place back. Do not try to seek it by way of right. A Cook is technically a better Opening Batsman and let us use this opportunity to bed him in permenantly in the English Cricket team and hope Tres comes back to play limited overs cricket in his rehabilitation process.

You can understand Fletchers fears over a batting line up containing from 8-11 Hoggard,Harmison,Anderson and Panesar though.We will end uo going from 6 down to 10 down for 20 runs or so in most innings.

I am sure the Aussies dont need an accadamy here as their reserves will all be earning money playing in county cricket or league cricket.

On the subject of the next ashes tour here we should now surely use the first warm up game to get young enthusiastic players right at the Aussies,as they did to us,instead of a game against semi retired aging pros to play them nicely into form.

I agree with Ralph. Unfortunately, I believe that Trescothick has been extremely badly advised over a couple of years when he has needed support and good advice. Whilst I appreciate that he needs to be consulted about any public statements, the ECB has to take the ultimate responsiblity for a PR disaster. The circumstances of his return from India - no-one believed the virus story simply because it was so badly handled - the extraordinary media interviews given a few months later and Trescothick's "everything's OK, really itching to for the Tests to start" interviews barely a week ago all bear testament to an English cricket establishment's obsession with manipulating the media rather than understanding their players. An
even better example is the countless (ok, getting on for 20) press releases announcing that Vaughan's recovery was going better than expected and that he would be batting again in 2-3 weeks. One of the few sensible things Fletcher has done in this media mess was to pour water on Vaughan's last "I'll be taking part in the Ashes" media onslaught.

Back to Tresco: reading between the lines, it seems that he has some kind of depressive conditions, possibly connected to family problems. But instead of a brief announcement to this effect when it first came around and a request for him and his family to be left in peace, all we have had is this farrago of strange virus complaints, "stress-related" conditions, falling out of love with the game etc: and because everyone knew nothing the ECB were saying could be trusted, it was open house for the media.

Trescothick has a problem, but he has been dumped in a much bigger one by his advisers.

How disgraceful!

Here are 5 opening partnerships from the 2005 Ashes series where one Marcus T. was involved.
One for each test, no matter first or second innings.

1st test 80
2nd test 112
3rd test 64
4th test 105
5th test 82

Marcus scored over 400 runs and was second in the batting averages.

Mr. de Lisle is either stupid or pretends to be so. To belittle a man when he's ill not matter what the Dx makes me wonder who really has a mental problem, Marcus or the sports writers who are mocking him right now.

Owais Shah would be quite a good candidate to replace Trescothick, if the selectors are looking for a replacement. He would offer Cook the chance to open and he could compete with Collingwood and Bell for the one remaining spot considering England plan on playing 5 bowlers.

I agree with Tim, Tres is not a big loss forengland, and also agree that Monty will be left out by Duncs who just can't let go of bits and pieces players i.e, Giles, Jones and Collingwood.
Can somebody explain to me why is collingwood in the test team instead of a specialist like Shah or Key. You need players with "in your face attitude" to beat the Aussies (i really hope england can do that) that is where KP and Freddie are brilliant, and hence i feel Shah should be given a chance(of what i saw him against india). Duncs should chose players according to form and not because of their previous records.
My playing 11 would be:
Strauss
Cook
Bell
Peitersen
Shah/Key
Flintoff
Read
Harmison
Anderson
Hoggard
Panesar

But i suspect the actual (Duncs) 11 will be
Strauss
Cook
Bell
KP
Collingwood
Flintoff
Jones
Giles
Harmison
Hoggard
Andeson

All the best England.
For the record- I am an India fan supporting England. Have been in this country for a while to understand Duncs politics.

I do quite agree with Tim here. Whether the Aussies will use this little matter to play further mindgames is yet to be seen, but notwithstanding that, I don't see Trescothick's departure as a major loss of manpower within the team. I saw Cook's debut match and was more than thrilled. He was Goweresque in touch and here lies an opportunity to blood youngsters who have no doubt shown promise. Best of luck to Monty and Cook. And to tresco as well.

Extremely sorry for Marcus, he's been a great servant to England and at his best was far better than anyone ever gave him credit for.

This should, however, be something that binds the team together and makes serious players of Cook, Bell and Collingwood. The best move now would be not to send for a replacement and have faith in the batsmen who are still there in the party.

Mark Butcher lost his Test place purely through injury. He gives cover at 1, 2 or 3, is fit [as far as I know!], made runs last season and most importantly has a good record against the Aussies. The obvious replacement as far as I am concerned.

butcher will be a good replacement.he is 33 at the moment and had a really good series when england toured australia last time around.time to bring him back in.i dont think he is too old at 33

I think de Lisle underrates Tresco.
The man has a test average of nearly 44, which is highly respectable. Better still, he scores 50 or more in every 3.32th innings, which is way better than par for tests.
Those criticising his footwork reveal ignorance of the game. In fact there are very few twinkletoed batsmen in test cricket, period!
Every test batsman fashions his own way of coping, and, in the end, such attributes as eye, judgement of length, reflexes etc, the bricks and mortar of talent, are much more important.
I slso dont know why de Lisle compares his predicament to Thorpe's problem. Thorpey had a marital breakup on his hands, and, being a man who takes such things very seriously, unlike many, he reacted and couldnt keep his mind on the task for a while.
I've never heard a whisper of Tresco having this problem, though it could be there, I suppose.
I wish Tresco well, its far too early at 30-31, for him to consider retirement!
He must seek out the best available advice from professionals, and then apply that advice with great discipline. Its the way to go.
I reckon he'll be back.

Just bring in Collingwood, and whoever fails in the first two Tests gets replaced by Vaughan in the third. =)

Very sad news that Tresco is still suffering whatever the condition is. I agree with earlier comments that they had to be cruel to be kind. The best thing for him would have been a sabattical for a year, release him from his central contract and tell him to go play county cricket, enjoy life and enjoy the game again.

As for what to do? Well Cook and Strauss is a good opening partnership. Personally I'd go for Owais Shah at 3. Against the Australians, in Australia defending the Ashes, I'd want an abrasive player with discipline issues and a big ego. We saw last year, the Aussies don't like their own medicine. Witness Ponting losing the plot repeatedly. Bowling wise Harmison has been horribly out of form lately and needs to stop spraying it about. My line up:

Strauss
Cook
Shah
Pietersen
Bell
Flintoff
Read
Mahmood
Hoggard
Anderson
Panesar

Given his recent form this may be a blessing in disguise.However, please forget these ridiculous suggestions of bringing back Butcher and Ramprakash - they're way out of the picture.There are decent players of another vintage in the academy who deserve to be called up.

I would just like to observe that the ECB has consistently referred to Tresos problems as "stress-related", not a mental illness. There all sorts of other things this could be that would be very difficult for him deal with -- not least in the limelight of international cricket. Whilst I agree with the thrust of Tims post, comments about timing and appropriateness should be held off until we know the whole story. I wish him well and hope it is not serious.

This is as predictable as it is sad. However, we do not need a replacement bat (certainly not Key or Ramps). The loss of one opening bat has resolved the selection problem vis a vis the batsmen who are already in the tour party. More serious issue for selection is the rust/trust issue and the indications that Fletcher is going to be play the arthritic-looking Giles in order to shorten the tail. The idea is going the rounds that in Fletcher's logic, to lose Trescothick from the side makes Giles more necessary than before. In reality he is not necessary at all, unless the strategy is to play two spinners. It is an example of the negative aspects of Fletcherism.

With Collingwood playing, there is now a very strong chance that Monty and Giles will both play in the first test as Collingwood can take the role as 4th seamer. I hope Marcus gets well soon and is playing for England again when ready; few people can match his assertive opening batting, especially in the ODIs.

It is indeed sad that the media, including Tim and some of the other bloggers, cannot sympathize with Tresco. For long years he has charmed the paying public with a brand of hitting, unique to him.

I would rather believe that the problems Tresco faces are really huge then believe that Tresco has become weak. I really wish him well and I am sure Tresco will bounce bank. After all, he is class.

All said and done, one must feel very sorry for Tresco. My kudos to him for realizing he could not contribute to the success for the team. For that alone he is a shining example to others. In my opinion, he has shown tremendous courage in accepting his illness and decided to pull out of the Tour. He is a better man for that. My hats of to you, Sir and may you have a speedy recovery.

losing trescothick could be the single biggest hammerblow that england can never recover from. He was the only guy at the top of the order who could have taken on mcgrath and company. He has always been a major threat because he always scores at a good rate,which means that the bowlers do not settle into any sort of rythm,thus making life a far lot easier for the other batsman. Its a great loss for England on the verge of the ashes, because i honestly dont see anybody replacing him in the side. I sincerely hope that he can solve whatever problems he is having and get back to doing what he knows best,walloping the opening bowlers all over the park.

Bring in Panesar to open the innings!

England to retain the Ashes by drawing the series 2-2. Collingwood 'player of the series' for a string of astonishing catches and run outs.

Why should we ever find out the whole story. Trescothick's private life and medical history should remain exactly that. He is not the first person to miss tours due to health and will not be the last with the ever increasing number of matches played. I wish him well and hope he takes as much time off of cricket as he needs and is not rushed back into cricket. I fear this will be the last time he play test cricket although hope that he will play cricket for his county in the future.

Tim de Lisle: Firstly, one thing this blog isn't is an Ashes blog. Try England's Ashes blog. Secondly, Tresco: sad for him, but it was always on the cards. Tell me the other test cricketers worldwide who so readily get to pick & choose their tours?? It's not like he's that good...in fact he's rubbish against Australia. As an Aussie fan, England will be better without him, aside from the media field day it has created through such public disarray this close to Thursday the 23rd. Bringing redundant tourists...all the hallmarks of the last tour downunder...

Cry in your warm beer Pommies.
"Homesick" Harmy will be next, and your baby batsmen will be shivering in their jocks in Brizzie. Strauss, KP & Freddie will keep you in the contest, so I hope it's still a great series.

Not a big lose! This must be a joke. Do not take comfort and think yourselves fortunate England you are now left with a side that has no Ashes batting on an Australian pitch. Half the battle of test cricket is in the mind and England just forfeited.

Trescothick is one of these amazing players who averages more in tests than in first class. His first class record is very ordinary, surely not good enough to be in tests, yet in tests he is great. Another player who had a similar record was Australia's Michael Slater. Slater, as we now know, suffered from depression, and this spelled the end of his career. Is that the real reason that Michael Trescothick is not taking part? With Australia's fabled "mental disintegration" and the likes of McGrath and Warne to harass him, perhaps Trescothick merely crumbled?

I hope that we find out what was really wrong with him, and that he gets some real treatment. I would hate to see a repeat of what happened to Michael Slater.

Why isn't Owais Shah in the team? He as pretty impressive in India.

AUSSIE FAN HERE!!.. lets be honest.. Eng should be thankful he's gone.. he's been in terrible form of late, and missing from Int cricket for sometime.. he was a great performer in the 2005 ashes series.. ( without doubt ) but would be far worse for the Eng team if that was the reason to keep him in the squad.. he's not up to it right now.. Eng has some quality youth.. Bell and Cook particularly need to play as often as possible from now on, and somehow Fletcher needs to find a way of not looking a Collingwood.. he weakens ur batting..
I have seen Eng previous test series on out tv and its inconceivable that duncan will opt for Giles over monty and jones for read.. Eng won last time because they were able to bowl us out... our pitches bounce and come-on to the bat.. but Eng need a good spinner if they are to retain the urn..
get well soon marcus..

Disappointed to see so many people expressing doubts about Collingwood. He has performed extremely well of late and got only one test last summer when he was given out lbw to a ball that him 12 inches outside the line!
In addition one of the key things to take into account in my view is the other things that a player brings to the side - we've mentioned Tres's slip fielding would be a loss and it will be - but I think that if we were to add the number of runs Collingwood saves in the field that most players wouldn't and add that to his batting average (to get a net worth of runs) then he's probably averaging well over 50 and that's without allowing for the fact that he'll take some catches others wouldn't and can even turn his arm over for some economical overs should there be an injury or something to another player.
He adds a lot to the team - more in my view that Tres has over the last 2 years.
As to the decision to bring in Joyce - I would have thought Shah was the better bet but let's hope I'm proved wrong!

At some point in the future we will eventually learn of what really happened to Marcus Trescothick - where it all went wrong. On the back of his most successful campaign yet against the Aussies he was made captain for the 1st test against Pakistan. It inspired him to make 193 in his first innings. Yet England still lost the test - this must have soured his enjoyment of that first innings score. He was the inform man having also scored all of England's runs in the warm up match for this series. He averaged 49.33 in an away test series - this for someone known to have a considerably lower away average than at home. Vaughan gets crocked and Marcus has the chance to become England Captain. This is the straw that breaks the camel's back. He breaks down and leaves India in tears effectively ending a career that at that stage looked certain to challenge Gooch's record of runs made for England. What really happened? How can someone so in form achieving so much decide he no longer enjoys the game?

Maybe we will have to wait a few years before than man himself explains all.

Geoff Boycott has blamed the cricket administrators, in other words the ICC, for endless cricket that can lead to player burn out, whether physical or mental, Trescothick being an example of this. Although cricket has gone into overkill in terms of tournaments and tours, the administrators should not be blamed. Keep in mind that players can opt out of tours if they want by declaring themselves unavailable. As the tours dates are known in advance, this is an option and can allow players to rest from the grind of overseas tours. I feel that the players are as much to blame as they are professionals and know what they are required to do. If you cannot stand the constant pressure, the constant travelling, being away from family, then don't sign up for it. Unfortunately, money will always lure people into pushing themselves physically and mentally beyond their endurance. In the end, something has to give.

Trescothick, lets be fair regardless of the guy having certain issues to deal with and the lacking footwork for someone to succedd as a opener in test cricket look at his record!!!!!! If fit he would play so whats the problem we still have a practice game before the ashes start. give the guy break, having not been away from home for 6 months at a time we cant comment on how that feels personaly. If fit he would play. As he is not out their in Aus i would like to see John Crawley - i know its a step back but for one series who could be our pray to retaining the ashes, playes with warne so could combat that threat and his record the last 2 years in 1st class cricket has been exceptional if 20 years of age he would be there!!!!!!!!!