Trescothick Plays On With A Passion

Jeremy Blackmore discovers why Somersets veteran is happy to be signing up for a 27th season.

- Jeremy Blackmore

For Marcus Trescothick the desire to score runs for his beloved Somerset is as strong as it ever has been. So much so, that, at 42, he has signed a contract extension that will see him play at Taunton until at least the end of 2019.

Speaking exclusively to The Cricket Paper, Trescothick said: “At my age, you’ve got to keep that passion, that desire to want to get back out there. Until that disappears then I’ll know that I’m able to carry on and do what I need to do. It’s not been the easiest season for many batsmen, but still the desire is there to keep wanting to do more.”

Trescothick’s contract extension comes as several other veterans have hung up their boots including his former England teammate Paul Collingwood at Durham and Jonathan Trott at Edgbaston. It is a very personal decision, says Trescothick, for whom 2019 will be his 27th season as a Somerset player.

“Clubs obviously play a role when you get to our age. They keep giving me the opportunity, which is good. I’ve just got to keep delivering on the pitch because then you can carry on playing for as long as you’re good enough to do so. Everybody has their time I guess, when they decide that enough is enough and will move onto something else, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Fiercely proud of his Somerset roots, a big part of the decision is a desire to not just to keep playing cricket, but playing for Somerset – for whom he has scored more first-class centuries (52) and more List A runs (7,374) than any player in the club’s history – as long as possible.

“Having been here for such a long period of time, it becomes a bit more of a passion rather just than a job, so it’s hard to tear yourself away sometimes. Being awarded a testimonial year was a very proud moment and an honour. We’ve been loyally supported here at Somerset.”