Myles Hodgson
England look certain to drop Marcus Trescothick from their immediate one-day plans following his shock withdrawal from Champions Trophy consideration with an ongoing stress-related illness.
Somerset left-hander Trescothick, England's
leading century-maker in one-day cricket with 12 hundreds from 123 appearances, has been a key member of the limited-overs line-up virtually ever since he made his debut six years ago.
But his continued struggles to cope with the demands of international cricket and particularly this winter's intense schedule has prompted him to make himself unavailable for the mini-World Cup in India next month.
Trescothick, pictured right, and his medical advisors are confident his ongoing treatment, which includes a period of rest, will enable him to recover sufficiently for the Ashes series which follows the Champions Trophy.
Yet with only two matches remaining in the NatWest Series against Pakistan, England are almost duty-bound to look at alternatives at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston for next month's tournament in India.
Essex batsman Alastair Cook and Ed Joyce of Middlesex are the two spare batsmen in the squad and coach Duncan Fletcher confirmed: "We will make that decision over the next couple of days to see whether he (Trescothick) will open the innings, but there is a chance we will try someone else."
Fletcher remains sympathetic about Trescothick's plight, which first manifested itself earlier this year in India and forced him home from that tour for family reasons, although the reason for his departure was later changed to a mystery virus.
Yesterday's announcement blames a gastrointestinal infection for part of Trescothick's troubles, but it also confirmed a stress-related problem was the main source of anxiety and cause of his surprise withdrawal.
"After his return from the tour of India in March, Marcus sought specialist help for his ongoing symptoms," explained a spokesman from Performance Healthcare, Trescothick's specialists.
"In addition to the effects of the acquired gastrointestinal infection on his health, it later became evident that he was also suffering from an underlying stress-related illness.
"He has been receiving specialist treatment, which has allowed him to resume his position in the England team. However, we believe that it would be premature for him to tour India in October."
The statement added: "Rest is an important part of his treatment and he will need recovery time before the Ashes tour.
"Marcus has made significant progress, witnessed by the fact that he is now at a stage where he has openly accepted the full extent of the illness which he suffered.
"The medical regime put in place to support him has enabled him to play a full part in this summer's international programme, however being overseas for the Champions Trophy would interrupt the current treatment."
Fletcher is still publicly supportive of his senior opener, but is also anxious that players should not try to pick and choose their tours.
When Darren Gough and Alec Stewart opted out of the Test tour to India in 2001-02, both players were punished and overlooked for a period before forcing their way back into the team and the same applied to Graham Thorpe when he missed the 1999-2000 tour to South Africa.
"I have always got sympathies for players with injuries, whether they are physical injuries or these medical problems that Marcus has because I know these players want to play for England," said Fletcher.
"There is a lot of cricket going on and we have just got to come up with a method that makes sure these players don't pick tours.
"I have always said that there is a lot of cricket in both levels of the game, in county and international cricket, but I would want my players available for all tours that are played."
England, who are due to announce their Ashes squad next Tuesday, will have to consider Trescothick's mental state carefully before considering him for that squad, knowing only mentally-strong players will prosper in such an intense series.
Forensic tests may be carried out on the match ball from the forfeited Oval Test match ahead of Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq's disciplinary hearing.
The International Cricket Council are believed to be considering the prospect of putting the ball under scientific scrutiny.
Inzamam is facing a charge of ball tampering, as representative of the Pakistan team, and also one of bringing the game into disrepute after the fourth match of the npower series found its way into the history books as the first forfeiture in 129 years of Test cricket.
Lawyers for both Pakistan and the ICC are involved in dialogue and the hearing – to be adjudicated by Sri Lanka's Ranjan Madugalle – is expected to take place later this month.
England'S Andrew Flintoff will lead the English defence of international cricket's top awards in India next month.
All-rounder Flintoff has once again been nominated for the International Cricket Council's player of the year award he shared with South African Jacques Kallis in 2005.
The 28-year-old features alongside England new boy Monty Panesar in the top category and is also in the reckoning for the Test and one-day player-of-the-year gongs.
Kevin Pietersen is the other Englishman in the list for the Test accolade and joins Flintoff on the One-Day category. Michael Vaughan, whose leadership against the Aussies was lauded even down under, is among the quartet vying for the newly-introduced captaincy award.
There is a stronger presence in the emerging section, headed by left-arm spinner Panesar and including Alastair Cook and Ian Bell.
Scoreboards
County Championship Division One – Middlesex v Nottinghamshire
Lord's: Notts (3pts) trail Middlesex (1) by 110 runs with 8 first inns wkts standing
Middlesex First Innings
B L Hutton c Patel b Sidebottom 0
N R D Compton not out 105
O A Shah lbw b Franks 26
E T Smith c Ealham b Shreck 28
E J G Morgan c Alleyne b Shreck 0
P N Weekes b Shreck 0
D C Nash c Hussey b Shreck 0
C T Peploe c Hussey b Harris 34
J Louw c Ealham b Harris 3
C J C Wright c Fleming b Franks 4
C E W Silverwood c W R Smith b Shreck 23
Extras b1 lb3 w1 nb2 7
Total (66 overs) 230
Fall: 1-1 2-55 3-88 4-92 5-92 6-92 7-145 8-163 9-174
Bowling: Sidebottom 16 5 54 1; Shreck 22 5 79 5; Harris 15 1 53 2; Franks 13 3 40 2.
Nottinghamshire First Innings
D J Bicknell lbw b Silverwood 1
W R Smith not out 54
D Alleyne c Nash b Silverwood 15
S P Fleming not out 33
Extras lb5 nb12 17
Total 2 wkts (32 overs) 120
Fall: 1-4 2-42
Bowling: Silverwood 7 3 17 2; Louw 9 1 33 0; Wright 8 1 47 0; Peploe 8 2 18 0.
Kent v Sussex
Canterbury: Kent (4pts) lead Sussex (5) by 138 runs with 2 wkts standing
Overnight: Kent 241 (M van Jaarsveld 116; M Ahmed 6-58). Sussex 102-2.
Sussex First Innings
C D Nash c G O Jones b Joseph 42
M W Goodwin c G O Jones b Cook 51
C J Adams c G O Jones b Joseph 75
M J Prior c Stevens b Tredwell 30
R S C Martin-Jenkins c Walker b Tredwell 0
Y Arafat lbw b Tredwell 18
M Ahmed not out 25
R J Kirtley c Fulton b Tredwell 0
J D Lewry b Joseph 2
Extras b7 lb8 w3 nb24 42
Total (72.2 overs) 289
Fall: 1-2 2-5 3-116 4-116 5-201 6-216 7-253 8-265 9-270
Bowling: Cook 18 4 60 1; Joseph 17.2 4 57 5; Dexter 6 0 25 0; Stevens 15 1 48 0; Tredwell 16 0 84 4.
Kent Second Innings
D P Fulton c Adams b Kirtley 6
R W T Key c Prior b Kirtley 0
M van Jaarsveld st Prior b M Ahmed 9
M J Walker st Prior b M Ahmed 66
D I Stevens st Prior b M Ahmed 54
G O Jones c Y Arafat b M Ahmed 4
J C Tredwell lbw b M Ahmed 15
N J Dexter not out 14
S J Cook c Lewry b M Ahmed 2
R H Joseph not out 2
Extras b5 lb8 w1 14
Total 8 wkts (63 overs) 186
Fall: 1-5 2-15 3-29 4-111 5-119 6-154 7-180 8-182
Bowling: Lewry 14 1 29 0; Kirtley 12 3 24 2; Ahmed 26 2 71 6; Martin-Jenkins 1 0 9 0; Arafat 9 0 31 0; Nash 1 0 9 0.
Division Two Gloucs v Surrey
Bristol: Surrey Won Toss
Gloucs First Innings
W P C Weston b Doshi 130
C M Spearman lbw b Doshi 100
H J H Marshall c Batty b Saker 56
Kadeer Ali b Mahmood 32
C G Taylor b Saker 14
A P R Gidman not out 21
S J Adshead b Doshi 0
M A Hardinges c Ramprakash b Schofield 13
J M M Averis not out 13
Extras lb2 nb4 6
Total 7 wkts (107 overs) 385
Fall: 1-154 2-230 3-316 4-334 5-338 6-339 7-364
Bowling: Mahmood 23 9 56 1; Saker 17 4 82 2; Walters 4 0 21 0; Dernbach 9 2 55 0; Doshi 31 10 93 3; Schofield 23 3 76 1.
Worcestershire v Leicestershire
New Road: Leicestershire Won Toss
Worcestershire First Innings
L Vincent c Ackerman b Liddle 78
S C Moore b Masters 3
V S Solanki c Robinson b Maddy 72
B F Smith b Masters 36
G A Hick c Nixon b Walker 11
S M Davies c Nixon b Maunders 51
G J Batty c Masters b Maunders 35
R J Sillence c Walker b Maunders 31
Kabir Ali c Maddy b Liddle 2
Z Khan c Nixon b Maunders 4
M S Mason not out 0
Extras lb2 nb6 8
Total (88.2 overs) 331
Fall: 1-14 2-113 3-189 4-189 5-213 6-274 7-322 8-325 9-331
Bowling: Walker 15 2 71 1; Masters 22 7 73 2; Henderson 8 0 35 0; Cummins 7 1 45 0; Liddle 12 1 45 2; Maddy 15 5 45 1; Maunders 9.2 4 15 4.
Pro40 League
Division One – Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan Dragons 158-8 (R D B Croft 54) v Northamptonshire Steelbacks 165-2 (S D Peters 84 no). Northamptonshire beat Glamorgan by 8 wkts (D/L Method).
Division Two – Derby: Somerset Sabres 277-3 (J C Hildreth 122) v Derbyshire Phantoms 278-3 (T R Birt 108). Derbyshire beat Somerset by 7 wkts
2nd XI Championship
Centre Vale, Todmorden: Lancashire v Yorkshire . No play – Rain.
