"I had a lovely presentation from the club and some amazing messages from players"
Thursday 26 September 2019 16:26, UK
"Where's it all gone? Twenty-seven years has flown by!"
So said Marcus Trescothick, reflecting on his supreme first-class career for Somerset, during which time he also played 76 Tests and 123 ODIs for England.
Speaking to fellow former opener Nick Knight, Trescothick shared a few reflections on his lengthy spell on the game and the future while commentating on his county's final Championship match, at home against Essex.
What are you going to miss most?
Trescothick: "The batting. You go out there day-by-day, year-by-year and do your best to score runs. You thrive on that feeling when the ball hits the middle of the bat and flies to the boundary and you celebrate a big score. It's really hard to replicate that in any way, I guess.
"I'll miss the changing room and the lads around it but I'm kind of hoping that coaching in some capacity, wherever I'm going to be, will give me that buzz and feeling. I've had a taste of it already in different environments."
What have been your best moments?
Trescothick: "The Ashes in 2005 was a pivotal time in everyone's career; it was something we'd built up to for so many years. We got to a point where we were achieving great things but for a short window, which was disappointing, but it was massive to get over that line.
"My time here with Somerset - I really regard the time that I was captain here highly. It wasn't successful in terms of winning trophies but we were very close on numerous occasions, coming second in pretty much everything. But it still meant a lot to me and I'm really grateful for having the opportunity to lead the team out for five years.
"It taught me a lot about the game and how to manage, and it gives me good experience going forward."
His love for the game…
Trescothick: "I guess that's the bit that has really scared me for so many years when I've been thinking about retiring and moving onto something else - how am I going to replace that feeling of wanting and loving the game, as much as I have done. I'm kind of hoping that I have found that next ambition - to push forward with coaching.
"Commentating is good fun - we spend some good times in the commentary box and have a good laugh with ex-team-mates and players that you know.
"I always thought the last day would be an emotional day but I feel relatively in control of what's going on and it has been really great fun. I had a lovely presentation from the club and some amazing messages from players around the place."
How proud are you of your playing record?
Trescothick: "I'm very happy with those numbers. The only thing I would say, which has always just hindered me a little, is the hundreds column. I always felt that I should have got more. There were periods in my career where I missed the boat on getting big scores. I got 66 first-class hundreds but it should have been at least another 15-20 in the four-day game and Test cricket.
"I was always quite aggressive with how I played. Alastair Cook's powers of concentration are immense and he's great at scoring hundreds, as was Jonathan Trott; they are batsmen who just seem to churn hundreds regularly. That was always something that challenged me, to keep that concentration up."
Who did you look up to when you first started?
Trescothick: "Chris Tavare was my first captain at the start of it all. Andy Caddick was very prominent in the side then and still remains someone I'm very friendly with. Mushtaq Ahmed was here when I started my career. I try to look back on it sometimes and think about all of the players that I've had the opportunity to play with here, and it is hundreds! It's very entertaining."
Did you always want to be a professional cricketer?
Trescothick: "I always wanted to - it was just a case of if it was going to happen, I suppose. It was just trying to get to that point where you were good enough and offered a contract. I left school straight away at 16 and joined the club straight away at that point and then over the course of that winter they offered me my first contract, so I jumped into it straight away."
What was the best spell you faced?
Trescothick: "There were some great ones along the way. Shane Warne was the toughest bowler I faced because he was always challenging you in different ways and would change his plan over-by-over, and then the execution of the plan was tough. It wasn't really until 2005 when we went after him a little bit to put him under pressure that things changed - he still got 40-odd wickets but at a higher economy rate.
"I remember one spell in a Benson & Hedges game - the old 50-over cup - when Javagal Srinath, playing for Gloucestershire, made me look very silly. I reckon I played and missed at about 50 balls!
"I was lucky enough to face many greats - Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh. Dominic Cork, of course - many a time I'd give him a bit of tap!"
