Cricket: England's Trescothick the latest to suffer from burnout

By RICHARD BOOCK in QUEENSTOWN

Marcus Trescothick had no sooner reassured the England selectors of his form than he was asking for some time out before next week's first test.

The England opening batsman became the latest international cricketer to complain of burnout after guiding his side to a draw in the three-day tour match against Otago yesterday.

Trescothick's 68 helped the tourists to post a respectable 257 in their second innings and Otago ended the day at 124 for six, avoiding defeat for the first time in eight first-class games this summer.

More sobering for England was the loss of allrounder Andy Flintoff with a knee problem and the news that Trescothick was struggling with his concentration only a week out from the opening test at Christchurch.

Hard on the heels of Graham Thorpe's early return home from India, and New Zealand wicketkeeper Adam Parore's self-imposed break from domestic cricket, Trescothick warned that he needed a complete break from the cricketing environment in order to be ready to play the test match.

"I'm not too worried about the lack of match-play before the first test to be honest," he said last night.

"I'm more interested in having a break from the constant cricket.

"It's been very difficult for me so far because I'm feeling tired, and I know the best thing to do in that situation is to have a rest."

Although pleased to make a reasonable contribution after getting into double figures only once in the one-day series, Trescothick suggested his mental state had probably been the biggest factor in his lean run of form. The 26-year-old left-hander was forced to scrap from the outset yesterday after losing opening partner Mark Butcher in the first over and Thorpe in the fifth, and led his side out of trouble with a 129-minute contribution that included 10 fours.

Useful hands were also played by Mark Ramprakash and Usman Afzaal before England suffered their inevitable collapse, losing five for 23 as former test pacemen Kerry Walmsley and David Sewell tasted success.

From the apparent safety of 139 for three, England were suddenly 162 for eight and their eventual total was only reached after livewire stands of 62 for the ninth wicket and 33 for the last.

Walmsley was Otago's star with the ball, taking five for 51, and captain Craig Cumming was the most impressive with the bat, striking an unbeaten 57 to make the game safe for the home side.

England's last tour game before the first test is a three-day match against Canterbury starting on Thursday, and Trescothick said he hoped to be left out of the playing XI.

"We all talk about the amount of cricket we play and how it's going to affect someone along the line.

"From my point of view, I found that in the last two or three ODIs I just wasn't switched on mentally when I was going out to bat.

"You've got to try to assess that as soon as it happens. You've got to work out why, what's going wrong and how to put it right, and I think in my case it's just a question of having a rest.

"I'm finding it tough to concentrate.

"I'm working twice as hard in the nets as I normally do in order to get it right, but I'm not sure if that's helping."

The other concern for England is the fitness of Flintoff, who developed knee soreness after the second day and did not bowl at all yesterday.

England officials believe the knee problem is not a major obstacle in the build-up to the test, but they will probably take the precaution of resting him as well as Trescothick for the match against Canterbury.