Trescothick targets titles

Marcus Trescothick is in love with cricket again and his outstanding recent scores have given Somerset the chance of an unprecedented double.

The west country outfit lie third in Division One of the LV County Championship and fourth in the NatWest Pro40, hot on the heels of Nottinghamshire who lead both competitions.

The 32-year-old has endured a difficult couple of years, battling a stress-related illness that brought a premature end to his England career.

Trescothick announced his international retirement in March and has since flourished for Somerset who are just three points behind Nottinghamshire in the championship - a competition they have never won.

Marcus Trescothick passed 1,000 championship runs during his 158 against Surrey

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“It’s good fun. We’re obviously in the hunt for the championship, the main prize," he told ecb.co.uk.

"We set our stall out - that’s what we wanted to do after winning the Second Division last year. With five games to go we’re in with a real good shout."

Somerset will meet the leaders, second-placed Durham and Lancashire, currently in fourth, before the end of the season - matches that could go a long way to deciding the outcome of the Division One title.

Trescothick added: “Our championship form has been pretty good all season. We’re just in the right position now in the leading pack of the top three so if we can play the good cricket that we’ve set ourselves to play for the last five games we’ll have a real good chance going into the end of the season.

“We play Notts and Durham and we’ve obviously got Lancs the last game of the season. Every game at the moment in the first division of this championship is tough.

"Everyone’s got a good team and they’re all playing well at different times. There are no easy games any more in the championship which is great for cricket.”

The left-hander passed 1,000 championship runs this term in his season-best 158 against Surrey last week, following up fifties against Sussex and Nottinghamshire.

He also reached three figures in the Twenty20 Cup against Worcestershire and NatWest Pro40 versus Durham.

Trescothick said: “I’ve just been in pretty good nick for this month really and been pretty consistent, which is always good, in all forms of the game after the Friends Provident was finished - from the Twenty20 to the championship and the Pro40.

“I wouldn’t say I’m in the best form. It’s been pretty good so far so I just want to maintain it now for the rest of the season. If I do that it will turn into a bit of a good year for me.”

Trescothick has excelled for Somerset in all forms of the game so far this season

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That “good year” could include the Pro40 title, especially after Somerset inflicted the leaders’ first defeat earlier in the month.

But Trescothick is aware his county still have room for improvement in the limited-overs game despite progressing under coach Andy Hurry and captain Justin Langer.

“You’ve got to be consistent and keep doing it," he added. "With our one-day stuff we’ve got a bit more to do. We won a really important game against Notts last week in the last over and it’s little games like that you’ve got to win to win titles so you have to keep performing.

“They’ve just changed the culture. They’ve tried to take it on and make it more professional to give us that extra bit of edge in terms of training, approach and how we’re going to work more behind the scenes than on the pitch.”

Another bonus for Somerset has been the return of veteran seamer Andy Caddick, who missed much of the first half of the season as he recovered from a neck operation over the winter.

The former England paceman could be the missing piece in the jigsaw as Langer’s men go in search of the county’s inaugural championship.

“Getting Caddy (Caddick) back gives you a good opportunity really. If you keep doing the right things and keep doing the good things well you’ll give yourself opportunities.

“We’ve never won it before. That speaks for itself really. But to win it back to back, having won the Second Division last year, would be a huge achievement for us but we’ve got a bit of work to do yet.”