Marcus Trescothick has said he will not make a comeback for England in the deciding Ashes Test at The Oval next week.
Somerset batsman says "terrible" nightmare brought about decision
Marcus Trescothick has said he will not make a comeback for England in the deciding Ashes Test at The Oval next week.
The Somerset batsman has been mentioned alongside the likes of Mark Ramprakash and Robert Key as a possibility for a recall for England's must-win match against Australia.
However, the 33-year-old, who retired from international cricket after suffering from stress, has ruled out a return - Trescothick saying he made up his mind after recently suffering a bad dream.
He told the
Bristol Evening Post: "Of course I thought hard about it. But there will be no England comeback for me in the final Ashes Test of this gripping series.
"It has been very flattering to see my name mentioned in so many circles since Australia's crushing win at Headingley and I'd be a liar if I said the prospect of playing at The Oval hadn't occupied my mind a lot.
"In fact, that has been the case to such an extent that the other day I woke up at 6.30am from a terrible dream.
"There is a nightmare a lot of cricketers experience that they can't get their pads on when they are due in to bat.
"My dream was a variation of that. I couldn't get my England kit out of my bag! The other players were waiting for me on the pitch to do a team photo so I was in a right panic. I woke up in a cold sweat.
"Perhaps that told me something. It gives me a massive kick that I am still thought good enough to come back and play at international level, but I've gone too far down the line in battling my stress problems to change my mind about now ending my England career."
Hunger
Writing in his Evening Post column, Trescothick admitted he was tempted by the prospect of a one-off return but ultimately concluded he did not have the necessary hunger for the occasion.
The left-handed opener's last England appearance came against Pakistan in the summer of 2006.
However, he flew home ahead of the Ashes series in Australia in November of that year because of his stress-related illness.
Trescothick scored 5,825 runs in 76 Tests at an average of 43.79 before announcing his retirement from international cricket in March 2008.
He called for Jonathan Trott to be included in the England side and also thinks Graham Onions should be dropped to allow Andrew Flintoff to return and to ensure there remains room for Steve Harmison.
Ramprakash, who has not played a Test since 2002 but who, like Trescothick, is a leading batsman at county level, has declared himself ready for a Test return.
