AS THE batting coach looking after England’s white-ball team, who faced New Zealand in the T20 World Cup semi-final today, Marcus Trescothick reckons he has the best job in the world, even if there are occupational hazards.
“This is a real privileged place to be,” he tells Standard Sport. “At practice, you see things you’ve never seen before, the way these guys hit the ball.” Trescothick recalls a session in the UAE a couple of weeks ago. “It was an open net for middle practice, and a very good surface,” he says. “It was like a golf driving range. Balls just being whacked over our heads. Jason Roy hit two onto the roof of the building in 10 minutes, lost. “Throwing these balls, you’ve got to have your wits [about you]. You are sweating, soaking wet, and it comes firing back flat, so you’ve got to grab it or get out the way!” This is not any old coach speaking. It is Trescothick, one of the few batters who played before the current crop with a claim to making England’s alltime white-ball XI. Jos Buttler (right), Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan and Roy are all among England’s greatest limited-overs batters.
“I am amazed how talented they are, how free-spirited and clear-minded they are going into games,” he says. “That takes time to build. I had times when I just felt I could whack every ball for four. That’s pretty much every game for these boys.”
You might have noticed something. The very fact this article is being written, that Trescothick is speaking in Dubai, means he is on tour.
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