Ashes 2017-18: Marcus Trescothick Slams David Warner for ‘Hatred’ and ‘War’ Comments
Oct 18, 2017 at 3:10 PM
Former England opener batsman Marcus Trescothick has lambasted Australian Vice-captain for his irrational comments regarding traditional upcoming Magellan Ashes series while terming the ‘hatred’ and ‘war’ comments.
The Somerset-born ex-specialist left-handed batsman Trescothick for Three Lions pronounced the diatribe from top-order batsman ‘pathetic’ and equally as ‘good distraction’ while adding he would want to witness Australia falling into their trap owing to the on-field exchange of words.
“I think it’s pathetic. I think it will just be a good distraction, hopefully, for Australia and they can get caught up in the war of words,” Trescothick was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
(Read Also: David Warner Urges Australia to Get Some Hatred for England Ahead of the Ashes)
Pertinently, Trescothick has been the part of three Ashes seasons for England and eventually went on to play an imperative role with the willow.
The 30-year-old last week urged his teammates to push for hatred when England wrestles in Australia during the hosts’ summer campaign beginning with Brisbane Test from November 23.
The hype before Ashes kickoff is at its prime which further has saw players grabbing the headlines while relying on controversial remarks, in a bid to win the psychological war.
“There’s always the hype that comes around before the Ashes, so I don’t think it’s something the players will be drawn into,” Trescothick maintained.
However, such comments further infuriate the opposition which further saw the players thriving on inspiration from it with Warner already claiming setting-up Indian skipper Virat Kohli as one such example.
So much so, Trescothick feels his national side players are mature enough to deal such tough situation in the eagerly-awaited contest before heading to Adelaide for the pink-ball Test in December.
“I don’t think they will get that involved. To come out with those sort of comments is not needed,” Trescothick asserted.
Apart from the ongoing pre-series war of words, Trescothick believes it would be hard to the Three Lions to retain the Urn while considering the batting.
“We’re a little bit unsettled as a team and there’s a few issues in the batting line-up which they need to get sorted,” Trescothick remarked.
On the other side, Warner believes Ashes brings best out of him as he is looking forward to regaining the coveted trophy after England won the series 3-2 at home in 2015.
“The history, the pride that is at stake. As soon as you step on that line it’s war,” Warner was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia after his interview with BBC Radio.
Moreover, the cricketer-turned-commentator Geoffrey Boycott took to microblogging website Twitter by saying the Australian players are trying to demoralize England squad before adding it would be a stern test of the visitors.
“They want to get (England) down, abuse & sledging, a war, that’s what it is to them not cricket. It’s a test of character for our lads,” Boycott posted on his official Twitter handle.
Known for his stroke-making during his playing days in top-flight cricket, Trescothick was also the part of Ashes 2005 campaign when England lifted the Urn at home under the leadership of Michael Vaughan by 2-1.
Interestingly, Trescothick (431) was the second-leading run-getter in the tournament after Kevin Pietersen’s 473.
Infuriated former England skipper Michael Vaughan also chimes in on Warner, who spoke to the BBC’s Test match special podcast on Monday.
“Better get some Tanks and Machine Guns ready then …. What nonsense !!!?,” Vaughan wrote on Twitter.
Trescothick made his international debut in 2000 against Zimbabwe at The Oval, as he went on to play 76 Tests for England.
He scored 5,825 runs at an average of 43.79 and had 14 hundreds and 29 fifties under his belt.