Former England opener and Somerset legend Marcus Trescothick will join the England coaching camp for the first two Test matches of the upcoming Ashes series starting 1 August in Birmingham.
Trescothick, who recently announced his decision to retire as a player at the end of this year, will spend the training days ahead of the Edgbaston and Lord’s Tests with the England squad at both training sessions and at the team hotel, reports ESPNcricinfo.
Former batsman Jonathan Trott has fulfilled a similar role with England ahead of the Test against Ireland.
Both these appointments do not necessarily suggest that Trescothick — or Trott — is about to be appointed as the England batting coach once the tenure of Mark Ramprakash ends.
The duo has been included in the set-up to ease the burden on England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) leading batting coach, Graham Thorpe on training days where coaches are expected to provide throw-downs for several hours at a time.
Trescothick played 76 Tests and 123 ODIs for England and amassed 5,825 and 4,335 runs, respectively.
However, a constant battle with depression which also forced him to pull out of England’s tour to India in 2006 midway, cut short his international career. In 2008, he retired from international cricket to concentrate only on playing for Somerset.
The Somerset-lad has announced his retirement from professional cricket at the end of the ongoing English county season.
(With inputs from IANS)