Marcus Trescothick knows he is in the Caribbean as a substitute, but replacing Brendon McCullum has clarified his career ambitions – he would like the England head coach job he was temporarily given for this tour to become permanent one day.
“Previously I thought I wanted to be a head coach, but taking the reins for the two series against Australia and here against the West Indies has confirmed for me that I would like the opportunity to do that at some point,” he tells Mail Sport. .
“I’m very involved in the work I’m doing right now, so it won’t be imminent, but in the future, as things change, it’s something I would be very open to.”
‘I would love to have a chance when the time comes. It’s a good goal. Doing this work now has given me a taste and belief that I can move on to bigger things.”
Being part of the team as one of England’s assistant coaches is “the second best thing to being a player, because you’re in the environment, working with your favorite team in the world,” says Trescothick, recalling the stir he generated when he was handed his bag when he began his second career with the Three Lions in 2021.
The fact that Trescothick is talking about the long term and is open to traveling abroad for work is both reassuring and a personal triumph. Quietly, little by little over the past four years, a man whose playing career was cruelly sacrificed in his prime, at age 30, by debilitating anxiety problems exacerbated by being away from home, has been accumulating his time on the road. To the point that there has been little notice that he will take part in the three tours in England’s pre-Christmas quagmire.
Marcus Trescothick has been England’s interim coach during the tour of the West Indies
He will be replaced by England coach Brendon McCullum (pictured) in January next year.
So what has changed? “Experience,” he answers. ‘Understand what it was, face it, act on what needed to change and learn to be better.
“You find methods of understanding and then coping, and then gradually working more and more with therapists, I’ve been able to get to a point where I’ve been able to say, ‘Okay, we’ve been on that journey, what’s the stepping stone?’ Do you want to do the next one, and then that one, and the next one?
‘Little by little you put it all together and it becomes a much less burden than it was. Obviously I wanted to get back to doing all the things I’m doing now, sitting here in a hotel in St. Lucia, but I knew the opportunities after playing would involve more travel. “The coach I want to be involves that.”
Trescothick, 48, has spent the last 20 years as a pioneer on the subject of mental health, destigmatizing his relationship with sport in his seminal autobiography Coming Back To Me, which begins with a harrowing passage about a breakdown at a Dixon’s store at Heathrow airport. before a flight to Dubai in 2008.
These past chronic struggles with stress have arguably made Trescothick perfect training material, adding an extra layer of empathy to one of cricket’s most likable characters. It’s certainly in tune with the difficulties modern players face when trying to transition from one format to another across continents on a few days’ notice.
Jacob Bethell and Rehan Ahmed, two of the young players involved in England’s first series win in the Caribbean in six attempts since 2019, are heading straight to New Zealand from here to join the Test team. Jordan Cox left this tour early to prepare for his debut in Christchurch later this month.
On this trip, the players were taking part in a one-day international match shortly after disembarking from the plane in Antigua.
The lack of preparation is a far cry from Trescothick’s six-year spell with England at the turn of the century, when warm-up matches lengthened schedules.
Trescothick pictured celebrating with Liam Livingstone after a win in an ODI match in Antigua
But having been part of both eras, Trescothick believes that while this generation needs support, it is less deprived in terms of development.
‘We would have longer trips and the challenges were very different. Yes, we may have had a couple of warm-up games, but we also played less cricket, so we needed them. The fact that they play more means that modern cricketers don’t,” he reflects.
‘We finished on September 29 against Australia. Two days later we flew to Multan. Some of the guys were on that flight, so all they had to do was adapt to the heat and conditions.
“They didn’t need to catch up in terms of the game. They didn’t need 10 different net sessions and a four-inning game to get up and ready. It’s just a matter of fitness and mental.
‘Things have evolved enormously. It’s like you organize warm-up games when you need them, and there will be one in Queenstown before the New Zealand series, but also remember that it’s only been three weeks since they last played a Test match, not two or more. three months.
“Of course it is demanding to be an England cricketer, so some of the Test players are not in this environment because we wanted to give them a break.” Some guys on this trip will take a week off to freshen up, repack, and just spend a little time at home with their friends and family. We just need to monitor workloads where possible, and if we identify an opportunity to rest, we act accordingly.”
England took an unassailable lead after three correct decisions from Jos Buttler at the toss, but will balance that during back-to-back contests at Beausejour this weekend with the chance to bleed uncapped Essex duo Michael Pepper and fast bowler of Hampshire, John Turner.
“We want to expose them to international cricket, so that once Brendon takes over, he has a better idea of how they play under pressure when potentially other players are not in the team.”
England lost 2-1 to the West Indies in their ODI series, but the tourists dominated the T20s
In the absence of established players Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Joe Root and Ben Duckett from the eight-match Caribbean campaign, others have taken the opportunity to regenerate their careers. Saqib Mahmood, Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran are three who have flourished as senior professionals.
‘I think that’s probably an opportunity more than anything else, isn’t it? Saqib has done brilliantly with the new ball, Livi is a player who has made progress in understanding her game a little more and how she is going to do things, while Sam is someone who has always had responsibility with the ball, showing that he can also do it. “Great job with the bat,” Trescothick continued.
Analysis of each member of the 16-strong tour group will be sent to McCullum and Key tomorrow, when Trescothick returns to his day job.
His role in the regime will be redefined in the new year, but if more changes come in the future, he knows he will be prepared for it.