New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS) Marcus Trescothick is set to lead England as the interim head coach of the Test side in the upcoming three-match series against Pakistan from Wednesday onwards as the Three Lions enter a new era in the format. England are now in a transition period after the departures of Test captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, with a new coach-captain duo at the helm in the red-ball format.
England’s new era will see Stephen Fleming taking over as the full-time Test head coach, with Joe Root reinstated as the red-ball skipper after Stokes’ retirement and removal of McCullum from the Test coaching role. However, former English batter Trescothick, who is serving as the assistant coach, will be at the helm of the coaching staff for the Pakistan Test series. Ahead of the series, Trescothick sat down to list down the challenges he and Fleming would face in a new era of English Test cricket.
The 50-year-old stated that he would focus on calming the things as England return to play Test cricket after nearly two months. He also stated that the focus would be on England changing their approach from the Bazball cricket to a slightly more balanced one, where they can blend “positive play” and being “circumspect”.
“Yeah, we need to calm the situation to start with. I think it’s really important that we get that feeling back in (of playing Test cricket). The team has grown hugely in the course of the summer, and we have had challenges, no doubt. But within the changing room, it’s felt really calm for a good period of time, and changes have been quite infrequent,” Trescothick told the England and Wales Cricket Board.
England have been criticised by many for their attacking approach with the bat. Despite their ultra-aggressive avatar enthraling the fans, the Three Lions have not been able to produce results, having never made it to a World Test Championship final and having not won an Ashes since 2015. The interim coach then stated that he would like the team to change its approach.
“Of course we have got a couple of changes now (McCullum and Stokes), so let’s just calm the situation, get everybody back into playing test cricket and then sort of try to tweak the style of play that we’ve been doing. I think every test match, every innings you go out to bat, you’re going to have a different challenge in what you want to do, and we want to get players now that can sort of be at their best and sort of manage the situation according to the tempo of the game.
“Every pitch is different, every bowler in the group is different. But let’s be smarter about how we want to try and do it. There’s going to be moments when we can be positive and moments when we can be a little bit more circumspect and sort of soak up what’s going on. The challenge for us going forward is to be better in what we want to try and do, and I want to try and develop that. (We need to) Be better for longer and be more patient for longer than what we put in have done it,” Trescothick added.
The 50-year-old also spoke on Joe Root’s reappointment as the Test captain, after having led the red-ball side from 2017 to 2022. Trescothick admitted that the desire and passion to lead the Three Lions is back for Root. “Absolutely (Root’s desire and passion to lead). You can sense it within him. We’ve seen the journey that he’s had over a long period of time. And now back into it. Even when he took over for the game against New Zealand at The Oval, the smile on his face and excitement of leading the team (is there),” he added.
England’s three-match Test series against Pakistan starts from August 19 in Leeds. The second Test will be played at the iconic Lord’s from August 27, followed by the series-concluding Test in Birmingham from September 9 onwards.
–IANS
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