17 Facts about Marcus Trescothick - The Prolific former England Opener

Marcus Trescothick was an automatic choice for England between 2000 and 2006 before a stress-related illness threatened his career and forced him to pull out of the national squad. He began the process of rebuilding his career and did so successfully with Somerset scoring 2 double hundreds in 2007, however, continued to remain uneasy about returning to international cricket, and announced his retirement from internationals in March 2008. He nevertheless continues to play for Somerset into 2015, working as a commentator and analyst for Sky Sports in the off-season. Here we take a look at some interesting facts about Marcus Trescothick:

1. Birth:

Marcus Trescothick was born on 25th December 1975 in Keynsham, Somerset, England.

2. Early years and personal life:

Trescothick started cricket from an early age. His father, Martyn, played two matches for Somerset’s Second XI and was a good amateur player, appearing for Bristol and District Cricket Association. They played together in competitive Western League matches while his mother, Lin, made it to the club teams.

3. Nicknames:

He was nicknamed Tresco and Banger, the latter derived from his diet as a young player. His diet included sausages, chips, sausages, toast, sausages, beans, sausages, cheese, sausages, eggs, and the occasional sausage.

4. Early domestic career:

Trescothick’s career aggregate of 1,032 runs for England U-19 is second only to John Crawley’s 1,058. His first full season at Somerset in 1994 was one of his best, where he scored a total of 925 runs, including two centuries and eight half-centuries at an impressive batting average of 48.63. The following five years were mixed for him. Averaging about 30 runs per innings, he was often criticised for a lack of foot movement. In 1999, Trescothick impressed Glamorgan coach Duncan Fletcher by scoring 167 in a low-scoring match where the next-highest innings was 50. This knock proved the most significant innings of his career as a year later he was selected for the England ODI side with Fletcher as the team’s new coach.

5. International debut:

Trescothick immediately settled into international cricket, hitting a composed 79 on his one-day international debut against Zimbabwe in 2000 and made an equally impressive 66 on his Test debut against West Indies at Old Trafford later that summer. He ended this Test series with an average of 47.50.

6. Only Test wicket:

In 2000, England toured Pakistan and Trescothick reached his highest score (71) of the 3 Test matches in the opening innings of the first Test. He took his sole Test wicket in the third Test when Ashley Giles caught the Pakistan opener, Imran Nazir. After the first 2 drawn Tests, England won this series 1-0 with a dramatic finish under fading light on the last day of the final Test.

7. Tour to Sri Lanka:

England continued their dream run in the subcontinent with a 2-1 series win against Sri Lanka in their backyard. After losing the first Test, the visitors came back brilliantly to secure the series. Trescothick was the top scorer in both innings of the first Test with 122 and 57 and finished the series with an average of 41.33.

8. England’s leading batsman:

Trescothick was England’s second highest run scorer in the 2001 Ashes series. In the following 3-Test series in India, he averaged 48.00, with the highest score of 99. He was England’s best batsman in the ODI series, averaging 53.00 with a strike rate of over 100. This tour established Trescothick’s reputation as one of England’s best batsmen against spin bowling. Back in England, he was awarded the Player of the Series in the tri-nation NatWest series that featured his century in the final.

9. The years 2003 and 2004:

He scored a brilliant 219 to help England level the series against South Africa at the Oval in 2003. In Bangladesh, he scored a century in the first Test, and 60 in the second followed by a half-century in the 3 ODI. His form in the tour to the West Indies in March and April 2004 was mixed. However, he topped the England batting averages in the 7-match one-day series, with 267 runs including 130 in the 5th ODI and 82 from 57 balls in the 7th. Trescothick was again England’s best ODI batsman in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy, scoring 261 runs in just four innings, including a century in the final; he also took his fourth ODI wicket.

10. Yoga and 2005 Ashes:

Trescothick took up yoga in an attempt to bolster his performances abroad. He fared better in 2005 than in the previous Ashes series, becoming the second highest run scorer in the series (behind Kevin Pietersen). During the third Test, he became the fastest player to reach 5,000 runs in Test cricket, and also achieved the notable feat of scoring over 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year for the third consecutive year- 1,004 in 2003, 1,003 in 2004, and 1,323 in 2005.

11. Wisden Cricketer of the Year:

He was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for his achievements in 2005 and was awarded an MBE in the 2006 New Year honours list with the rest of the English team.

12. Illness and depression throughout 2006:

He was forced to return home from India later that winter with a stress-related illness which made it difficult for him to spend time away from home. Following treatment and counselling, he returned to England’s ranks in the summer of 2006 but was again withdrawn from the Champions Trophy tournament in India because of the condition.

13. International retirement:

His form for Somerset in 2007 prompted England to name him in their provisional 30-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 Championship in South Africa, but once again he felt unable to make the trip. A further withdrawal, this time from Somerset’s pre-season trip to UAE, led to Trescothick announcing his retirement from international cricket in March 2008.

14. Book of the Year Award:

His critically acclaimed autobiography, ‘Coming Back To Me’, was published in 2008, in which Trescothick spoke candidly about his stress-related condition and how it affected his ability to play cricket overseas. It won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award for 2008.

15. Champions League T20:

Despite his much-publicised problems, Trescothick agreed to fly out to India with Somerset for the Champions League late in 2009, although he was forced to return home after the group stages citing the same stress-related illness. He remains committed to Somerset, however, and took over the captaincy from Justin Langer for the 2010 county season.

16. Continued success with Somerset:

The 39-year-old continues to be a prolific scorer for his county-leading them from the front. His form in 2014 was brilliant in first-class cricket scoring over 1,000 runs including four centuries. He finished the 2015 County Championship Division One as the 3rd highest run scorer with 1284 runs from 16 matches at an average of 45.85 including 3 tons and 8 fifties.

17. International stats:

He played 76 Tests for England scoring 5825 runs at an average of 43.79 including 14 tons and 29 fifties. His career best is the 219 he scored against South Africa. He played 123 ODIs scoring 4335 runs at an average of 37.37 including 12 tons and 21 fifties with a career best of 137 against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2001. He has also featured in 3 T20Is scoring 166 runs at an average of 55.33 including 2 fifties with a best of 72 off 58 against Sri Lanka in June 2006 at The Rose Bowl ground in Southampton.