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[devatha]

Suspense lingers over Trescothick exit

Sajeda Momin
Thursday, March 02, 2006  23:38 IST

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1015931

LONDON: Top England batsman Marcus Trescothick’s sudden departure from India before the start of the first Test remains shrouded in mystery. However, according to
unconfirmed reports, the opener’s wife, Hayley, is unwell and he has rushed home to be by her side.

The English Cricket Board refused to divulge any details as to when, if at all, he can be expected to return to India to continue with the tour. “Marcus had returned home to address a personal issue, and he is choosing to keep it private,” a spokesman at the ECB told DNA. “We have nothing further to add to what Duncan Fletcher said a few days ago. We don’t know if or when he will be going back to India or how long it will take for him to deal with his personal problem,” he added.

Trescothick reportedly received a telephone call from England on Saturday that left him deeply affected. He was seen crying as he left the grounds. “A devoted husband and father of a 10-month-old daughter, Elle, Trescothick felt that his priority was to be at home after what has been a difficult time for the couple,” said a sportswriter.

In November, while Trescothick was playing in the first Test against Pakistan in Multan, his father-in-law was seriously injured while doing some work on the cricketer’s home. The batsman writes in his diary that it was a stressful period for his family and he “wanted to just get onto a plane and fly back home”. But he didn’t and stayed for the full tour. Since then his father-in-law has made a full recovery.

“During this family emergency Trescothick decided that his rightful place was at his wife’s side while she recovers and there is no certainty about when he will return to India,” said the writer.

After arriving at Heathrow he drove straight to his home at Taunton, in Somerset, and then accompanied by his wife and baby immediately went to visit his parents-in-law, who also live in Taunton.

Trescothick’s loss has been Andrew Flintoff’s gain, not only in being made captain after Michael Vaughan’s departure due to a knee injury, but also in the eyes of English fans.

Flintoff’s decision to put off his plans to go home to be with his wife Rachel who is expecting their second child has made him a national hero. Flintoff was due to return to hold his wife’s hand through labour just after the second Test. Instead, his decision to stay and captain his troubled team has got him headlines like “Flintoff puts country before family”. Some have questioned where the real men of cricket have gone, harking back to earlier days when cricketers left families for six months at a time to find new children when they returned.