Trescothick vows to keep pressure on as England eye 3-0 finish against Pakistan
Marcus Trescothick, England’s interim head coach, said he will aim to keep the same side for next week’s final Test at Edgbaston after England secured the series win over Pakistan at Lord’s on Sunday. Trescothick said he wants to finish his interim tenure with a 100% record and is determined to “not ease off the gas” as England pursue a 3-0 sweep.
England have already taken two Tests in the series, including an opening victory inside three days at Lord’s, and the most likely reason for any change to the XI would be player fatigue. Pakistan’s batting this summer has not forced prolonged sessions — the piece cites an average innings length of 43.3 overs for Pakistan this series compared with 107.5 overs for India last summer — and England’s win in the second Test on day four leaves the players nine clear days before action resumes at Edgbaston.
“First and foremost I want to win the series 3-0, and if you’re going to do that you want to play the most consistent team possible,” Trescothick said. “We’ve got to see how they all pull up from this game, and they’ve got four or five days now of break, which they’ve not had for a good period of time because the schedule has been so busy. Once we know that we’ll be able to make that decision.
Trescothick stressed the value of squad depth when selecting for different pitches, saying: “That was the XI we wanted for that [Lord’s] pitch, but that’s always the beauty of having a squad – that you can chop and change. Horses for courses, if you want to put it that way.” He added he expects Edgbaston to present different conditions to those seen in the opening matches and that the team will assess the pitch before confirming selections.
England’s seam quartet of Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson have been prominent across the two wins, and Trescothick underlined the intention to develop that group through continued match exposure. “I think we’re building an attack in four people, and a few guys backing it up, with pace and skill around it,” he said, adding that more joint Test experience would improve the unit’s potency in tougher conditions.
On raw pace and squad readiness, Trescothick noted the current balance in England’s attack and the players coming through: “What we have is three guys bowling at 92mph, which is really nice to have in your armoury. And the more they play together, and the more experience everyone gets together, then it sort of fits into place how you want it to be. I’m enjoying the fact that we’ve got four who are match-fit at the moment, and a few behind it that we’re starting to get ready.”
England travel to Edgbaston for the series’ final Test next week, with Trescothick saying selection will follow an assessment of players’ recovery and the pitch conditions once they arrive: “Once we know that we’ll be able to make that decision.”