Trescothick praises Joe Root’s calm after England’s innings-and-103-run win at Headingley
Interim coach Marcus Trescothick praised Joe Root's calming influence after Root returned as England Test captain and led the side to an innings-and-103-run victory over Pakistan at Headingley on day three of the first Test. It was Root's second stint as Test skipper and, according to Trescothick, it provided an ideal start.
England's win followed a tumultuous period that included the Ashes defeat by Australia, off-field issues, Ben Stokes's resignation as captain and the sacking of Brendon McCullum. Trescothick, who worked as an assistant under Stokes and McCullum and has been with England as a batting and assistant coach since 2021, said the side had tried to take the "best bits" from the previous regime but were "not Brendon and Ben" and would pursue their own style. "We're very much the style of what we want to do," he added.
England struck with the first ball of the Test and dominated Pakistan across two and a half rain-affected days, scoring at 4.55 runs per over. Trescothick said: "We played to the fashion that we wanted to," and added: "We wanted to be able to be clever and smart. There's moments within the game we've done that brilliantly." He also stressed England maintained a mantra of applying pressure and said: "I did enjoy the fact we were still scoring quite quickly especially when the ball was new."
On Root's leadership, Trescothick contrasted different captaincy styles: "[Stokes and Root] talk differently, they speak in a different way in terms of their style of approaches." He said Root combined excitement with composure: "You saw some things with Joe which were really exciting and really calming at the same time because it needed that influence on it at the moment." Trescothick added that part of the approach was simplification and clearer planning: "Maybe be a little bit more simple with some of the plans, a bit more clear direction of going 'this is how we want to bowl' and how he manages the individuals behind the scenes also."
New Zealander Stephen Fleming has been appointed McCullum's replacement but will not take charge until the winter tour of South Africa, leaving Trescothick as interim for now. Fleming was in contact with Root and Trescothick "every day" during the win over Pakistan, and Trescothick said: "He was adamant me and Joe take it on and just run with what we feel is right, to try and get the group back in shape, with a few pointers on what he wanted and how he could see his style being implemented within the group."
Fleming has approached former Australia coach Mike Hussey to be batting coach when he takes over; Hussey previously worked with England under Michael Mott during their 2022 T20 World Cup win and with Fleming at Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. Trescothick said he could move to a white-ball only role, where McCullum remains England coach, but that he would "love" to stay on with the Test side: "I want to be involved in all formats of the game because it's a wonderful place to be." He added: "That's not really for me to judge so I'll wait and see what happens."
Fleming's delayed start means Trescothick will continue as interim coach through the upcoming Test commitments until the winter tour of South Africa, when Fleming is set to take charge.
