All these years, cricket has witnessed a lot of players. A lot you can call as the legend, but only a few cricketers have made it to the list of immortal. Each country has their own cricketers whom you can call that. They are immortal because of their passion for the game, they are immortal because they prove that they are ageless.
If we are talking about such players from England, Marcus Trescothick will top their list.
1993 it was. He started as a youngster for his team Somerset. A year later, he became a regular to the team. He did pile up runs to get a captaincy call in the Under-19 tour. Then his career in the domestic circuit was pretty normal. He would play great innings and would hit the rock bottom in the next few. Though he was talented, his lack of foot movement was the talk every single time he gets out.
He continued to improve. He mastered the cover drive and played Slog-sweeps even before it got its name.
If I had to talk about one great inning out of a lot from him, I would say the 2005 Ashes second Test where he scored 90 off 102 deliveries while taking on Australian bowlers. England lost the first Test, and they needed a good start which was provided by him under pressure.
Of course, Australia was tough but for him, the toughest battle was to fight the mental illness which put an end to his international career.
He did well to cope up with the mental illness and continued to play for Somerset. He then captained the team from 2010 for six years before stepping down in 2016. He continued to play the game, in fact, play better.
In his 27th season for the Somerset, Trescothick wasn’t hitting the ball well. He looked like he has lost all the power. He sees the ball well but somewhere he misses out. Though he takes sharp catches even now at the second slips, his batting isn’t doing the talking. In eight innings he doesn’t even average 25. His foot is not moving as it normally does and at 43, after 27 years of cricketing career, he has decided to hang his boots finally.
Still, he wants to be there for his team, says, “I’ll be doing everything I can to put in performances for the second XI in order to force my way back into contention for the first team.”
Endings are brutal and I don’t like them at all but unfortunately, every good thing has to come to an end. This is it. After smashing all the records with Somerset, Trescothick will go home after the end of the season. I badly wish that Somerset wins the trophy and it would be great if the winning runs came through his cover drive or the slog.
He is not ready to leave cricket though he retires from the game. He will be back as a coach or he might continue to spread awareness on the importance of Mental Health something he suffered.
Thank you, Trescothick for countless memories.
