Marcus Trescothick was among England’s most reliable batsmen in both Tests and ODIs
S Rajesh22-Mar-2008
Marcus Trescothick scored more than 1000 Test runs in three successive years, from 2003 to 2005 © AFP
People who saw him bat raised questions about his technique, especially his static footwork, but few can argue with the numbers that Marcus Trescothick put up in international cricket, both in Tests and ODIs. A 79 in his first ODI innings, and 66 on Test debut, announced him as a player of immense talent, and over a six-year career, Trescothick did justice to his potential, though he would have scored many more international runs had he not succumbed to a stress-related illness which eventually forced his retirement.As a Test batsman, Trescothick finished with impressive stats – an average of 43.79, with 14 centuries in 76 Tests – but arguably he was even more successful in ODIs, aggregating 4335 runs, which is second in the all-time list for England, next only to Alec Stewart’s 4677. His 12 hundreds, and 33 fifty-plus scores, are both ODI records for England.
Tests 76 5825 43.79 14/ 29 54.51 ODIs 123 4335 37.37 12/ 21 85.21As a Test opener, he ranks among England’s best. Only four – Geoff Boycott, Graham Gooch, Michael Atherton and Len Hutton – scored more runs, while in terms of averages, Trescothick again ranks fifth.
Len Hutton 76 6721 56.47 19/ 31 Jack Hobbs 58 5130 56.37 14/ 27 Geoff Boycott 107 8091 48.16 22/ 42 Graham Gooch 100 7811 43.88 18/ 41 Marcus Trescothick 76 5824 43.78 14/ 29 Michael Atherton 108 7476 39.14 16/ 45 With Andrew Strauss and Michael Vaughan, Trescothick forged excellent partnerships at the top of the order. They are among only six England opening pairs to put together more than 2000 partnership runs. He averaged more than 50 per partnership with Strauss, while with Vaughan the average stand was only marginally below that mark.Trescothick finished with reasonable stats overseas as well, but he was far more prolific at home, averaging 51.05, almost 15 more than his overseas average. During the six years he played, he was England’s best batsman at home, with nine hundreds in 42 Tests. He also scored more than 1000 Test runs in three successive years, 2003 to 2005, and averaged more than 40 for five years in a row – stats that point to his amazing consistency. (Click here for his career summary in Tests.)
Marcus Trescothick 42 3472 51.05 9/ 19 Mark Butcher 22 1702 50.05 5/ 8 Michael Vaughan 32 2440 48.80 10/ 6 Andrew Strauss 21 1660 44.86 6/ 6 Andrew Flintoff 28 1616 41.43 3/ 13 Trescothick was at his best during the first innings of Tests: an average of 50.14 in first innings dropped to 35.33 in the second. In 76 first innings, he topped fifty 30 times, which is an excellent conversion rate of nearly 40%.
Graham Thorpe 43 2023 51.87 7/ 9 Marcus Trescothick 76 3811 50.14 10/ 20 Andrew Strauss 31 1549 49.96 6/ 3 Michael Vaughan 59 2648 45.65 8/ 11 Mark Butcher 44 1703 38.70 4/ 11 Being an opener, he inevitably fell early in his innings quite often – 56 times out of 143 innings – but he also cashed in when he settled in: six of his 14 centuries were150-plus knocks.
0-19 56 20-49 44 50-99 29 100-149 8 150+ 6 As an ODI batsman, Trescothick was arguably even more immense. No opener scored as many runs as he did, while the 1725 runs he added with Nick Knight is the highest by any England pair in ODIs.Like in Tests, Trescothick preferred playing at home in ODIs as well, averaging nearly 45 at home, and only 30.84 outside. During the six years he played, he was easily England’s best batsman at home. (Click here for Trescothick’s ODI career summary.)
Marcus Trescothick 60 2423 44.87 8/ 12 Andrew Flintoff 42 1253 41.76 3/ 6 Andrew Strauss 30 1054 40.53 2/ 5 Of the 12 hundreds he scored in ODIs, six were in losing causes, but Trescothick still figures among England’s biggest match-winners: in wins he averaged almost 46, a number bettered only by four England batsmen.
Paul Collingwood 63 2013 62.90 84.40 Graeme Hick 58 2142 48.68 77.30 Allan Lamb 64 2350 47.95 80.17 Graham Gooch 64 2710 45.93 65.09 Marcus Trescothick 52 2153 45.80 92.44 He also relished the challenge of chasing down a target in ODIs, averaging 41.08 when batting second, which is higher than what any other England batsman managed (among those who scored at least 1500 runs in run-chases). In victorious run-chases, the average was even higher – 51.68.
Marcus Trescothick 56 2054 41.08 86.26 Allan Lamb 60 1916 40.76 74.93 Nick Knight 49 1576 38.43 69.03 Graeme Hick 64 1843 36.13 71.04
