Trescothick dream is over

Any lingering hope that Marcus Trescothick might make a shock return for the fifth Ashes Test has been further quashed, with the former England batsman revealing that the speculation over his return provoked a vivid dream that had him waking up "in a cold sweat".

Trescothick has been one of several former England batsmen named in the past week to revive England's fledgling middle-order in a bid to regain the Ashes. Yet, both he and England's national selector, Geoff Miller, have given strong indications that he will not be considered for next week's Test, despite having played a crucial role in England's 2005 success against Australia.

"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," he told the Bristol Evening Post.

"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."

Trescothick yesterday said that he and his wife, Hayley, had discussed his possible return to England colours, before admitting he didn't "want it enough".

He announced his retirement from international cricket in March 2008, having battled with stress in the latter part of his England career. He remains prolific in county cricket, however, and tops the run charts this season in the Championship with 1330 runs at 78.23.