Trescothick sets sights on Ashes

Marcus Trescothick is "fit and raring to go" for England's Ashes campaign after missing the Champions Trophy to recover from a "stress-related illness.

At the end of a disappointing 2006 season, which began with a tearful departure from England's tour of India in March and concluded with a first-ball duck against Pakistan at the Rose Bowl in September, Trescothick admitted the pressures of touring life had worn him down.

"The constant treadmill of playing, training and being away from home non-stop took its toll," Trescothick told The Mirror, "but now the buzz is back, the energy is back, I'm fit and raring to go. I want to get on the plane now, I want to get going and feel the bat in my hands again."

Trescothick was an integral member of England's Ashes-winning team, scoring 431 runs in the five Tests, including a tempo-seizing 90 at Edgbaston. His absence from this winter's contest, not to mention the forthcoming World Cup, would have left a huge void for the team management to fill, although he insisted that the prospect of six months on the road was not a worry. Doing well in the Ashes and World Cup, he said, "would be perfect therapy".

"There are lots of people who have experienced the things I've been experiencing - but not all of them open the batting for England and have to try and put on a brave face in public. But the England management have been very supportive, the Professional Cricketers Association have helped me no end, and an extended break has given me both the chance to take stock and the boost I needed to kick on again."