Trescothick Reveals Mental Torment

Cricinfo staff

September 2, 2007

Marcus Trescothick has spoken for the first time about the depressive illness which has blighted his career and which threatens to curtail it prematurely.

In a frank and open interview with his former Somerset team-mate, Iain Fletcher, in today's Scotland on Sunday, Trescothick insists he does not have a mental illness but concedes he will be "seeing the medical people for years".

"No one knew what was going on," he said. "I didn't understand it. People were telling me things and I was like: 'No, there is nothing wrong, I just get a bit worried now and then.' I couldn't express it to people, so I was too scared to say anything about it.

"It's always been reported as a stress-related illness," he continued. "I'm not mentally ill, that's for sure. It all came from the build-up of playing and training, practising and being away from home. It's a combination of different things and the constant grind of being away all the time. I've never necessarily enjoyed going away, I've never really played my best and then combined with a new family it just came to a point where it was like: 'F***!'"

Speaking of his departure from England's tour of Australia, Trescothick revealed he was in a state of confusion, and "not sure how to cope with this at the moment", even when at the crease. But he also said that although the illness appeared to outsiders to have come from nowhere, he has probably suffered from it for years.

"People didn't even know at the end of last summer. Even in the England team, a couple of the lads came along and said: 'Right, what's going on?' I remember in South Africa and Australia (2002-03) waking up in cold sweats thinking about my batting."

Trescothick declared himself unavailable for the winter tours, including the inaugural Twenty20 Championship next week - despite being named in the initial 30-man squad in July.

"I haven't got anything to prove," he said. "I watch it on TV now and think: 'Just give me that chance again,' but I'm not going to do it until in my mind I am 100% and I have to be certain."

Read the full interview at the Scotland on Sunday

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Emburey is second man on BCCI list

Former England captain John Emburey is the second candidate for India's coaching job, the Indian board has confirmed.

Emburey joins former South African coach Graham Ford in the running for the coach's position and has been called to Chennai for discussions on June 9. The Indian board has spoken to Emburey and is expected to send him an e-mail, with more details, sometime today.

"The Board of Control for Cricket in India has invited Graham Ford and John Emburey to come to Chennai and make a presentation to the Special Committee on June 9, 2007," the board's media release said. "After this a final decision on the next coach of Indian team will be made."

Emburey's name was recommended by former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar, BCCI's chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty was reported as saying. Gavaskar was one of the seven-member panel that met in Bangalore on June 4 for discussing possible candidates for the coaching job.

The board had earlier announced on Monday that it had narrowed down the search to Ford and "a foreigner whose availability could not be ascertained". Emburey played 64 Tests for England between 1978 and 1995, ending with a modest 147 wickets at 38.4. He was, however, considered a model pro on the county circuit with 1608 wickets in a career that spanned 24 years.

However, he hasn't tasted much success as a coach. He was player-coach and then coach at Northamptonshire between 1996 and 1998 before being sacked with a year of his contract remaining. In 2001 he signed to coach Berkshire, a minor county, with the intention of emigrating to Australia at the end of the summer, but on the eve of the season he was appointed as Middlesex's third coach in as many seasons, taking over from old team-mate Mike Gatting.

In six years he struggled with a side in transition, bringing in some distinctly average players as well, and at the end of 2006 the county were relegated from the top flight in both the Championship and National League. In 2007 Middlesex brought in Richard Pybus to coach with Emburey moving to the more hands-off role as director of cricket.

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Indian Cricket Board satisfied with Whatmore meeting

The Indian board (BCCI) finally admitted that they discussed with Dav Whatmore his interest in coaching the Indian team. Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said he was "satisfied" with his "brief meeting" with Whatmore in Bangladesh and would report his feedback to the seven-member committee appointed to find a new coach for the team.

"I met with him yesterday. I will report the details to the committee," Shah, who returned from Bangladesh Sunday morning, told PTI. "I am satisfied with the meeting. It was a brief meeting, it lasted for five-ten minutes. Whatmore expressed his desire to coach India."

However, a senior board official told Cricinfo that too much shouldn't be read into the meeting. "The board hasn't shortlisted anybody. Whatmore met with Shah to express his interest but the decision on the next Indian coach will be taken only a week or two before the India team leaves for Ireland on June 20."

Shah, along with Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty and vice-president Rajeev Shukla were in Bangladesh on Saturday on an invitation from the Bangladesh board.

Both Shah and Pawar denied during their press briefing that the purpose of their visit was to have a discussion with Whatmore, who has emerged as a major contender for the post vacated by Greg Chappell. Asked about the turn of events, Shah said, "Whatmore wanted to meet me. I couldn't say no."

Shah had earlier said that the seven-member committee, which includes former captains Ravi Shastri, Srinivas Venkataraghavan and Sunil Gavaskar, would meet in Bangalore on June 4 and the new coach would be named four to five days later.

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