A little piece of England's thoughts were half a world away.
The players were told yesterday that former team-mate Marcus Trescothick had suffered a recurrence of his debilitating stress-related illness.
"Like everyone else, [I think] it's just really sad," Paul Collingwood said. "I think, just forget about the
cricket to be honest.
"I just want Marcus to get himself right. Forget about if he can play for England again. [He just needs] to get himself right more than anything else. It is sad. All our thoughts go out to him."
Trescothick withdrew from Somerset's pre-season tour to United Arab Emirates, having twice quit England tours.
The decision was taken shortly before the Somerset squad departed for their 12-day trip.
Chief executive Richard Gould was quoted on the Somerset website: "Marcus took the decision himself and the club are fully supportive. He has returned home to Taunton to be with his family and we look forward to him playing a full part in our season."
Trescothick was first affected by the problem during England's tour to India in February 2006 and flew home before the first test. He returned the following summer against Sri Lanka and Pakistan before making himself unavailable for the Champions Trophy in India.
He was recalled for the Ashes tour in 2006-07, but two matches into the trip broke down during a warm-up game against New South Wales and immediately returned to the UK. He hasn't featured for England since.
There now has to be serious doubt whether Trescothick - who averages 43.79 in tests with 14 centuries - will ever play for England again. His mates on the other side of the world clearly feel that is but a secondary consideration.
