While Yorkshire wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow's continuing run of form with the bat and a match-winning 11-59 for Lancashire's Kyle Hogg caught the eye last week, my Player of the Week is Marcus Trescothick. As a Somerset supporter, I know I might be biased but anybody who scores 189 and 151 not out in a single game is a little bit special. After Yorkshire compiled 358 on the first day, the Somerset captain wasted no time in chasing them down, not in a bid to avoid defeat but to beat them for a third consecutive year at Taunton. With Arul Suppiah as solid foil, Tres shared a first-wicket partnership of 257 and went on to fall 11 runs short of a second double-century of the season so far.
94 runs ahead and the weather against him, it looked as if a draw was on the cards. However, his six-pronged bowling attack, looking toothless without Kartik and Thomas, didn't give up and bowled the Tykes out soon after lunch on the final day. With 228 to get in around 50 overs, this was a situation tailor-made for the captain, and he didn't disappoint. No respecter of quality opposition, Trescothick treated the likes of Sidebottom, Shahzad and especially Adil Rashid with utter disdain. He outscored Suppiah by more than two to one as they put on another double-hundred partnership, with Marcus finishing on 151 not out in only 131 balls. This wasn't a Twenty20-type slogfest. He struck only two sixes, but the majority came in crisp boundaries.
It wasn't a flash-in-the-pan performance either. After an inconsistent start in the County Championship (0, 227, 23, 0, 6), he has reached fifty in each of his last seven innings, including four centuries. He is already only 23 short of 1000 first-class runs for the summer, and Somerset are back in the hunt for the title they, and their loyal skipper continue to seek and so richly deserve. Trescothick has more than 30,000 runs to his name in an eighteen-year career, a third of them for England. His early days with Somerset were studded with promise but inconsistency but once he was selected for international duty in 2000, he never looked back. His straight stance and no-nonsense approach at the crease made him an instant hit, especially in one-day cricket. His career averages aren't spectacular but his ability and affable nature, combined with natural strokeplay deserve to make him remembered more than the unfortunate illness which curtailed his international career. Watching him at Taunton, he remains a popular figure, whether with bat in hand, or constantly chivvying and praising his bowlers from first or second slip. Marcus Trescothick is a marvel of the English game and should be cherished.
