Trescothick passes first captaincy test with ease

Stephen Lamb

October 10, 2001

He may only have been deputising, and it may be a while before there's another opportunity to do it, but Marcus Trescothick's debut as England captain could hardly have gone better. The toss won, a typically positive half century to give England a flying start, and a comprehensive, 70-run win.

If anyone had put put it to the Somerset left-hander, 18 months or so ago, that he would spend today captaining England, he might well have doubted their sanity. But such has been the impression Trescothick has made on the team, that he was being touted for the role after the first Ashes Test last summer, less than a year after his first England appearance.

In those daunting circumstances (England were already one down against the best side in the world) the selectors were right to opt for the experience of Michael Atherton. Here, though, the situation could hardly have been more different. A series won, weakened opponents, and seniority among the squad's fully fit members. It was the right time to give it a go, and it worked out handsomely. So after such an encouraging start, does Trescothick want to do it again?

"Somewhere down the line I may possibly be interested," he said. "People have been tipping me for a while that I might take over when Nasser's gone, but this was just an opportunity to gain experience.

"If Nasser is going to carry on for a few years then someone behind him has to come along and fill the job -- but who knows who that is going to be?

"It was pretty tough and I didn't get much sleep last night because I was going over things in my head about how I was going to operate.

"But it was good to get the first toss out of the way because we've had a nightmare with tosses."

Trescothick was also enthusiastic about the performances of some of the younger mebers of the team.

"It's a good time for a few of the younger guys to express themselves," he said.

"That was the whole point of this tour, to give experience to the guys who have been playing for a bit and also for the young guys who haven't really played to get that experience in.

"There are pressures in international cricket and you never quite know what's going to come around the corner and we were tested at various points, but there were some key performances in that.

"To win 5-0 is important. We set our stall out to win the series when we came here but now we're 4-0 up we're gunning to win 5-0.

"They're obviously quite down at the moment after losing 11 on the bounce and we're on a winning streak and that's when you have to nail it."

It will be a great encouragement to the England camp that should anyone need to deputise for Nasser Hussain again, they now have someone in the ranks with an emphatic win under his belt.

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