Marcus Trescothick

Despite lack of requisite footwork, Marcus Trescothick made rapid strides from age group cricket to finish as one of the best openers English cricket has ever seen. More of a see-the-ball-hit-the-ball kind of player, Trescothick forced the opposition onto the back foot with his aggressive stroke-play both in Tests and limited overs cricket. In a cruel quirk of fate, his international career met a premature end with depression and stress taking toll on him.

Though Trescothick was a fine exponent of the slog-sweep, it was those crunching off-drives that highlighted his batting. He was also a sharp slip fielder to boot.

In 1997, the Somerset man, cracked 167 on a tricky green(ish) batting pitch and won the faith of Duncan Fletcher (the then Glamorgan coach who was in attendance). Equally proficient against pace and spin, Trescothick gradually established himself as England's main man. He was one of the architects of England's famous 2005 Ashes win though he did not nail a single century in that series. During the third Test, Trescothick became the fastest player to reach 5000 Test runs and after sealing the Ashes he was awarded the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) along with his team-mates. In 2004, Michael Vaughan sustained a knee injury after which Trescothick was handed over the reins for the home series against New Zealand. The additional responsibility had no adverse effect on his game-plan as he continued to reel off big runs.

His crowning glory came when he struck twin centuries against West Indies at Edgbaston, becoming only the 9th English player to claim a century in each innings of a Test match.

Later during England's tour of India in 2006, Trescothick abruptly flew back home, strangled by the strands of a stress-related illness. He fought hard to come back but with the illness swelling to a crescendo, Trescothick was forced to give up international cricket in 2008.

However, Trescothick continues to be a potent force for Somerset in county cricket. He led Somerset to runners-up finishes in the LV= County Championship, CB 40 and Friends Life T20 in 2010.

By Deivarayan Muthu