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Trescothick quits Australian tour

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LONDON, England -- England's preparations for their defense of the Ashes have suffered a serious setback with opening batsman Marcus Trescothick heading home from Australia due to a stress-related illness.

Trescothick has suffered a recurrence of the problem that saw him quit the tour of India earlier this year, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Tuesday.

"We are naturally disappointed to lose a player of his quality from our Ashes squad," said coach Duncan Fletcher.

"Everyone in the dressing room hopes that he is able to make a full recovery and resume his cricketing career."

Trescothick played in England's opening first class match against New South Wales which ended in a draw on Tuesday, failing with the bat as he was bowled for eight by Test paceman Brett Lee.

He also made only two runs in the one-day defeat to a Prime Minister's XI and was out of sorts in England's Test series victory over Pakistan this summer after returning to international cricket with a century against Sri Lanka in the spring.

An England and Wales Cricket Board statement said the selectors would hold "urgent discussions" in the next 24 hours about replacing Trescothick in the tour squad.

The most obvious replacements will be Robert Key, Owais Shah or Ed Joyce, who have all been picked for the Academy squad in Perth.

Unexpected news

The unexpected news leaves a vacancy at the top of England's order, with Alastair Cook the man likely to be promoted to partner Andrew Strauss.

Former England Test legend Ian Botham suspected Trescothick might not be ready to face Australia.

He told Sky Sports News: "He came home from the last tour and he was unavailable for the ICC Trophy, and now he's on his way home again so I would think that they've done everything they can.

"It's obviously not worked and now they go back to the drawing board.

Trescothick has made 76 Test appearances, scoring 5,825 runs at an average of 43.79 and was a key performer during last summer's Ashes series against Australia.

His withdrawal could not have come at a worse time for the tourists, just nine days before the opening Test of a five-match series in Brisbane.

Following a humiliating reverse in the one-day opener, England did show improved form against New South Wales, with Kevin Pietersen hitting a ton on Tuesday.

James Anderson took three wickets as New South Wales batted out to 194 for six in their second innings and has lifted himself in the pecking order to claim the fourth seamer's place.

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