Trescothick splits!?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Huh? What's this? What happened to the furious defense of cricket's Holy Grail? Trescothick quits the country before it even gets going??

What's the story Englisher-types? What the hell is "stress-related illness" and why is it so much worse than death that he'd just slink away while others would give their eye teeth, their first born and an option on their soul to be in his position?

Don't tell me it's as pathetic as it sounds

[Seafront Plodder]

Don't tell me it's as pathetic as it sounds

Yes, it really is.

[Sweder]

I'm not sure what his problem is MLCMan.
He left the Indian tour for 'personal reasons' which the vultures in the UK press assumed were marriage-related. Seems Tres has had some form of breakdown which he felt sure he'd overcome. Apparently not. He's a cracking player (absolutely no pun intended) when his head's right so I'm sorry to see him go. But Aus is no place to turn out of you're feeling a little vulnerable, so home's the right decision, for Tres and the team.

Alistair Cooke (expected replacement from within the squad) is a decent bat.
Those 'in the know' say he's a year away from a regular opening slot.
Well, now he's about 9 days away from it . . .

. . . gulp.

[El Gordo]

Another lamb to the slaughter. I can smell the English flesh roasting on those barbies already.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Another lamb to the slaughter. I can smell the English flesh roasting on those barbies already.

Mmm, Trescothick tastes like chicken

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

...you walloped us last time. There is no earthly reason why you can't do it again. It may be an away series for you, but you know now that you can do it.

You've still got Freddy and Skunk... and Straussy can bat a bit too. Frankly I never thought much of Trescothick (miserable bastard - always reminds me of that other long-faced bugger Hansie Cronje, who at least had the decency to fly himself into the side of a mountain) ... so you're probably better off without him anyway. But what an appalling way to quit the side. If he was an Aussie he wouldn't be let back in the country. If he was a South American he'd be shot at the airport.

Anyway, your boys better make a fist of it or they will be barbecued. We pay a lot of money for our tickets over here and demand to be entertained. If you can't entertain, then we demand a sacrifice. With tomato sauce, usually.

(And a few beers of course, goes without saying.)

What's Ian Botham saying about all this?

[glaconman]

Personally I feel sorry for the guy.

I'd much rather have any number of broken bones than a nervous breakdown or any other form of mental illness.

Cricket is just as much about being mentally hardy and adept as it is about being physically capable.

So why the incredulity in this kind of withdrawal?

Nothing to do with Aussie macho culture, of course! I'd think even Beefy has a more sympathetic take on this. Or perhaps not. He should certainly be given the benefit of the doubt given that we don't know the details.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Personally I feel sorry for the guy.

I'd much rather have any number of broken bones than a nervous breakdown or any other form of mental illness.

Cricket is just as much about being mentally hardy and adept as it is about being physically capable.

All we've been told is that he's feeling "stressed". Unless there's a serious diagnosis I can only think that the only thing wrong with him is that he doesn't appreciate the honour that has been bestowed on him.

No-one here has said anything about mental illness. Although you'd have to be at least vaguely disturbed to not want to represent your country I suppose.

... or just plain pathetic.

[Seafront Plodder]

Perhaps he's just realised what a dull excuse for a sport test match cricket really is.

[Sweder]

I fear Marcus is suffering from rather more than the jitters.
Listening to the remarks made by his manager it sounds like the fella's in the middle of something serious and deeply personal. Whatever the situation it takes a big man to admit he has a problem and step down. Whilst the Engand management looked for a raft of solutions the man withdrew himself, probably for the best for him, his family and his team-mates.

I hope the filth-hounds of the media can give him the respect and the privacy he'll need to make a full recovery. Watching the poms pull off the greatest rope-a-dope in history would be a great way to start

[El Gordo]

All we've been told is that he's feeling "stressed". Unless there's a serious diagnosis I can only think that the only thing wrong with him is that he doesn't appreciate the honour that has been bestowed on him.

No-one here has said anything about mental illness. Although you'd have to be at least vaguely disturbed to not want to represent your country I suppose.

... or just plain pathetic.

Take it easy, old chap. You're being a little unreasonable.

It's a recurrence of a "stress-related illness" which is the same as a mental illness in my book. If he's having these difficulties, I applaud him for admitting it. Best that he gets home now and allows a replacement to bed in while there's still some time.

He's an experienced international cricketer. It's not a case of getting cold feet. He's not well. Let's cut him some slack.

[Sweder]

He's not well. Let's cut him some slack.

What, MLCMan? Why?? He's an Aussie SOB and should be lined up against the wall and . . .


. . . oh, I see :o
Yep. With you there, brother.
I suspect the Antipodean press may have placed a slightly askew oscillation on the matter. One thing's for sure; they won't have handled the story with tact and sympathy. All the more satisfying when our brave boys daub that red cross on their fizzogs and tear into the [SIZE="1"](continued on page 94 . . .)[/SIZE]

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I suspect the Antipodean press may have placed a slightly askew oscillation on the matter. One thing's for sure; they won't have handled the story with tact and sympathy.

In fact the Aussie media are as bewildered and perplexed as I am. It just does not compute that you can pull out of an Ashes series due to "stress".

The opening para of the official Marcus Trescothick web site says:

MARCUS TRESCOTHICK insists he WILL play in England’s defence of the Ashes after fears he might not tour again. The opener now claims he flew home early from India because of a ‘virus’ — even though it was previously said he had domestic problems. Tresco, 30, said: “My problems are now very much behind me, I just needed a break.


Diddums.

Cut him some slack? I don't bloody think so.



P.S. Sweder, what is a "fizzog"?

[El Gordo]

You need to discover your feminine side, MLCM.

It's simple -- the bloke is either fit to play or not fit to play, regardless of how optimistic his forecast was a few weeks ago. He obviously feels unable to play, for a similar reason that a couple of very high profile golfers have felt unable to play in big tournaments in recent months.

It happens. Australia will win the Ashes convincingly regardless of Trescothick's presence. It's so obvious that I really have no interest in the series this time around, or who's fit or not.

Sad but true.

[glaconman]

I think the issue here is that Aussies don't do sympathy very well. They expect people to soldier on regardless and make light of misfortune. Which is admirable to a point; but comes across as abit thick-skinned to us sensitive Brits.

Anyway, I still maintain there's nothing pathetic about the situation.

It's unfortunate.

But I do agree with MLCM's assessment of England's chances. This team has beaten the Australians recently. They know how to do it.

Andy's confident assumption about the result seems as ludicrous as MLCM's crude assessment of the Tresco situation.

[El Gordo]

Andy's confident assumption about the result seems as ludicrous as MLCM's crude assessment of the Tresco situation.

Hmm, we'll see just how ludicrous in a couple of months' time.

[Sweder]

'Fizzog' is general slang for your mush.
Sorry, boatrace.
Err, face.

I hate to make wild predictions on two-horse races but I agree its daft to feed McGath's ego with a whitewash forecast. A lot rides on Jimmy Anderson - as yet unproven on the Big Stage but no doubt chock fulla talent. If he fires and one or two batsmen can settle in on their pitches its game on. As a seasoned QPR watcher Andy knows only too well it's the hope that kills you, so he's abandoned the lot this time in self-preservation. Me, I'm a romantic loser and always think we're in with a chance with Freddie and the Egotistical Skunk in the side.

I will predict one thing though chaps.
If McGrath trips over a stray ball this time I will probably need surgery to re-stitch my sides

[El Gordo]

I suppose my attitude sounds negative, though it truly doesn't feel that way to me. It feels more like matter-of-fact. I'm not depressed about it in the least. It just seems very obvious. England have underperformed at cricket for so long that I nearly always presume they will fail. It's a bit like all those people who were convinced that this year would be Henman's year at Wimbledon. Most of us just knew it wouldn't happen, and didn't get too worked up about it.

The Ashes victory last year was wildly celebrated largely because it was such a shock. It would be amazing if we retained the Ashes, and I would be delighted to eat as much humble pie as was put in front of me. But I can't see lightning strike twice. You only have to look at our results (and more important, our performances) in the intervening 15 months or whatever. Business as usual. Compare it with England in the (football) World Cup. I also knew we weren't the best team there, but nevertheless I really thought we had a decent chance of winning, and that's why I was so disappointed.

Funny, but I don't really think of a test series as a 2 horse race. If we were playing a one-off match against Australia in the final of the World Cup say, I would feel different, but over 5 matches and 20-odd days, I think the outcome is inevitable. Without doubt we will have our glorious days and some memorable individual performances but not enough of 'em if history is any guide at all.

It usually is.

[glaconman]

I think that's very negative. Claiming to 'know' that Henman wouldn't win Wimbledon. It's hindsight mixed with a negative attitude.

Henman was a top-ten player for donkey's years, and a great grass court player. His consistency to stay there for that period was a great achievement.

You should be suprised that he never won it rather than be resigned to the fact.

I bet if you spent a couple of days with the England team you'd change your tune.

Your a QPR fan. That's the context.

[El Gordo]

Henman was a really good tennis player, and I wouldn't say otherwise. By English standards, he was fantastically good. But I genuinely never had any expectation of him winning Wimbledon.

I was thinking about this some more while roasting my nuts in the kitchen just now. It struck me that I'm not that big a cricket fan, nor a big tennis fan, and I reckon that makes a difference.

Sure, I like to watch the Wimbledon finals, and exciting cricket finishes. I love to see a run chase. The 20:20 match I saw at Headingley a couple of years ago (Yorks v Lancs) was by far the most enjoyable cricket I've ever seen live, perhaps with the exception of seeing Botham hit 40-odd in around 20 minutes at Old Trafford against India in about 1982. But in general, I'm afraid I find cricket pretty dull, and I think because I'm not that bothered about it, I'm more realistic about our chances.

I like football and athletics and (most) rugby, and curiously, I'm always more optimistic about English/British chances in the big competitions for these sports -- and more upset when we lose. A coincidence? Well, I suspect not. Something to do with more emotional buy-in perhaps. People I know who dislike football seemed to be scathing about England's chances in Germany, while I was really convinced we could do it.

Or take tomorrow -- I'll be watching (on TV) my team play away from home at the runaway league leaders, Cardiff. A neutral would be convinced that Cardiff will win handsomely. I'll watch the game with so much anxious hope that I'll actually be optimistic about our chances. If we're two-nil down at half time, I'll still be optimistic! It's enthusiasm triumphing over rational judgement.

Anyway, I don't want to upset anyone with my views, and I don't want to be thought of as negative. In fact, I can't stand negativity. It would be great to see England retain the Ashes, and I hope that they do, but frankly, I don't expect it to happen. Sorry!