Trescothick: I just can't tour

Trescothick was thought to be on the verge of a welcome England comeback when he was named in a provisional 30- man squad for the Twenty20 tournament in South Africa in September, but yesterday he dashed those hopes by saying he was not yet ready to resume at the highest level.

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A stress-related illness has forced Trescothick to leave two England tours — to India and Australia last year — and now, approaching his 32nd birthday, he realises that after this decision, time is running out to resume a career which saw him become one of England's best batsmen.

"Time's marching on and it will probably be two years since I came home from Australia to the point where I might be available again now, so it's natural for people to think this could be the end for me," said Trescothick at Derby, where he was playing for Somerset yesterday.

"I can understand that and it might be right, but I still have aspirations of getting back — and I believe I will get back. It's not a simple road and I can only assess it as I go along."

Trescothick and his wife, Hayley, are expecting their second child in January, he revealed yesterday, and while Trescothick said that the pregnancy was not the major factor in his decision, the situation must have preyed on his mind after initially telling England that he was happy to be named in the Twenty20 party.

Hayley, it is understood, endured post-natal depression after the birth of their daughter, Ellie, in 2005 and her husband's problems first manifested themselves in India in March, 2006, after both that and a serious accident that left his father-in-law in hospital.

At the time of the latter, Trescothick was captaining England in the absence of Michael Vaughan in Pakistan in late 2005.

It is unlikely that England will pick the Somerset opener for home Tests or one-day internationals until he has proven that he is capable of touring again, so the next chance he would get to declare himself available for his country will almost certainly come with next year's ICC Trophy in Pakistan and the following full tour to India, both gruelling assignments for a reluctant tourist.

At least Trescothick has made this decision now, two weeks before England must name their final Twenty20 party, rather than risk any more uncertainty.

His England career would definitely have been over had he boarded the plane to South Africa only to leave a third tour prematurely, particularly one as relatively undemanding as two weeks in Cape Town.

Yesterday's announcement, however, came with considerable regret. "I was really excited about the possibility of getting back with England now," said Trescothick.

"But I had to make a decision based on availability for the whole winter, not just Twenty20. I'd rather not get into a situation in which I try to pick and choose where I go because this is not all about me, it's about the needs of the team.

"I have to try to make sure I'm available for as much cricket as possible when I come back, whether that is in all forms of the game or just one.

"Every time I see England on TV, I think I would love to be back there again and I've been full of adrenalin and feeding off the buzz about that prospect. But I've got to make sure mentally I'm ready to go in every aspect, and it's not an easy situation to make a call on."

Trescothick is still a centrally-contracted player, earning around £350,000 a year, but accepted that the remainder of the deal, which is up for renewal at the end of this season, is likely to be taken away from him.

"I will leave that up to the ECB, but I don't think it's rocket science to guess what might happen now," he said.

"County cricket has been great fun but, with all respect to it, it is slightly less stressful than the international game and while I'm making good progress, my recovery is not complete yet."

The news will be greeted with sadness by a cricket community which still holds Trescothick in the highest esteem, not least because his world-class batting ability has been sorely missed, particularly in one-day cricket.

It is the shorter form of the game that gives him his best chance of returning to the England fold in the future, as time spent away from home is far less. But it really does look as if this could be the end of a Test career that has seen Trescothick play in 76 matches and average nearly 44, a record that guarantees he will be fondly remembered.