England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick previews clash with hosts India at the ICC Cricket World Cup
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00:00 Hi Marcus, thanks for coming. Can you tell us how tough it's been watching? Obviously
00:08 you've not been able to affect things out there and just watching from the sides must
00:11 have been pretty hard viewing.
00:14 Of course. I think sitting on the sidelines, seeing the performances that haven't been
00:19 quite right, we've just not been matching up to the levels we expect. It's disappointing,
00:24 of course it is. We're all feeling it. We're all feeling the heat and stuff. But what can
00:30 you do? We prepared the same, we've done things very similar to what you'd expect. Every practice
00:37 we go through we're coming out the other side thinking we're in a good place and feeling
00:42 quite right. It's just not quite worked then when we go into the games and got that right.
00:47 So it's always challenging for everybody, not just the coaches watching.
00:49 The batting in particular, I think they've lost 47 wickets out of 49, you're scrambling
00:59 for somebody to get a big one to build around, aren't you?
01:03 Of course. We've only had one really big score, haven't we? David got 100 against Bangladesh.
01:13 We could do with a few more. Obviously that's the level we expect it to be and having the
01:18 bigger scores because in 50-over competitions there's room for 150s, 180s, 200s as we've
01:23 seen. We need a few bigger performances to put in the bigger scores for us over the long
01:29 50 overs.
01:30 Can you tell us what the thinking is about team selection this week? Is it more changes,
01:35 bring some of the younger guys in and let them have their head?
01:38 I can't tell you the team, of course, and I don't really know what their principle of
01:44 what they're trying to do. So I can't give you a lot to that answer, I'm afraid.
01:47 One guy in particular will be Harry Brook, who stepped out last time. You could tell
01:52 us a bit, he clearly is someone who's been earmarked probably across all three formats
01:56 as a pretty big guy with a big future. He probably has a role to play in the next few
02:02 weeks.
02:03 Maybe. I think there's opportunity or there's scope for everyone to play, as we know. Brookie
02:09 has been one that has performed in a consistent level from what we've seen in the last 18
02:16 months, I suppose, now in his test cricket in particular. He hasn't played a massive
02:20 amount of 50-over cricket, but if he got his opportunity, he's had a couple of OK scores
02:25 so far. But just, again, looking for that big one that will make the difference.
02:30 Just lastly, for me, India, it's not getting any easier. This tournament before you, they've
02:36 performed extremely consistently, sitting on top there. Is there anything you can take
02:44 from the fact that it's almost a free hit, given that even Matthew Botton said he expects
02:48 them to be wild favourites for the game?
02:50 I think playing against India in a World Cup in their own country, that's a special part
02:57 of the game. You get these opportunities that come around, you'll know there'll be a big
03:01 crowd, there'll be a wonderful occasion. We're looking forward to that chance. I think there's
03:07 nothing more that we can offer apart from going out and playing that performance. And
03:11 obviously then hopefully you come out on top at the end of it. But it's exciting. I think
03:16 having been where we've been, coming now into this game, the buzz of what it will be, building
03:20 up for the game and then into the game tomorrow will be good. So, really excited for it.
03:24 Do we have any further questions from the UK media before we go behind Chris Stokes
03:29 and then Matt, please? Then we'll open up to the Indian media.
03:34 Hi Marcus. Just on that India game and the kind of psychology of it, is it the fact that
03:40 it is almost a free hit? Do you think that will help to free up the players, especially
03:45 the batsmen tomorrow?
03:48 I don't know. I don't know if free hits can really make a difference. I thought we were
03:54 going into the last game everything in order to what we needed to do. And then we didn't
04:00 show the standards of performance of what we need. So, it's really challenging because
04:06 you want to come into World Cups, you want to be playing for every game, you want something
04:11 to really be meaningful when you go out and perform. And you look at the World Cup rugby,
04:17 it must be challenging playing a third and fourth place play-off. But we've got an opportunity
04:21 against a big team in their own country where the atmosphere is going to be electric. So,
04:28 if you're not excited and up for a game like that, then great. This is an opportunity to
04:31 do so.
04:32 Can I just ask you to talk a bit about your read on the tempo of England's batting over
04:39 the last three weeks? Because there's been talk about not attacking enough. You've also
04:44 lost a lot of wickets, as Rory said. What's your read on it? People seem to be not quite
04:50 getting set and maybe taking wrong options at the wrong times. What's your analysis of
04:54 it?
04:55 Well, I think first and foremost, we have an attitude to how we've gone about batting
04:59 in the last however many years since our white-ball cricket has changed and evolved. And it's
05:05 always trying to be positive. We're always looking to put pressure back on our positions,
05:09 bowlers, as much as we can while reading the situation and be smart in those situations.
05:16 And we've done it occasionally, we've done it now and again, we just haven't done it
05:21 consistently with enough people really reading the situation, taking the right options and
05:27 then putting it all together to get that score. So it's pretty obvious when you haven't got
05:31 players who haven't got the runs, they haven't got the form, they haven't got the backup
05:35 of what they need to be doing, you can always question what we're trying to achieve. But
05:39 the process and the conversations have always been the same and they won't change whether
05:43 we're playing the first or the last game. You're just trying to read the situation and
05:47 get it right on the day.
05:48 Do you feel like it's a rhythm thing for a lot of batters, struggling to get off strike
05:53 early and innings and just never really being set?
05:55 I think confidence, rhythm, whatever you want to call it, I think the form of the team hasn't
06:01 been as good as what we normally have. Normally there's always one, maybe two people in that
06:07 team who are going to get 100 plus or a big score that's going to make a big difference.
06:13 And consistently within the course of this competition, everybody has been out of form
06:18 or not scoring the runs that you need to do. So we understand that it comes and goes and
06:23 we know what it is. It's trying to make sure we can get it right to find the feeling of
06:27 what it is. If we get that right in the next four games, it will be exciting because they'll
06:33 be hungry for runs and when we do it will be exciting for the team we're playing against.
06:37 I just want to know, there is this huge sense outside that England has lost interest in
06:48 the 50 over format now that they've been the champions finally. What is your take on it?
06:56 Forgive me, I don't want to be blunt here but we haven't lost faith in what it is. I
07:00 can't really say too much more. We love playing any form of cricket, any form of the game
07:04 that we play and we were desperate to come here and try and win back to back 50 over
07:10 competitions. So we're still very much focused on all formats of the game.
07:15 Whether it is batting or bowling, adapting to slow-ish kind of wickets, is that the biggest
07:22 challenge?
07:23 That's always a challenge for us. I think in every team or every game that we want to
07:29 play, we want to play on the best wicket possible. If it's not and it turns, then we adapt and
07:34 we've been good enough and we've been very smart at that in the last few years. So that
07:40 might be the challenge ahead. I haven't looked at the pitch out there so it might turn, it
07:44 might be slow but it will be good preparation for some of the guys coming back in January
07:49 for the test matches probably.
07:50 What is the difference between bowling and speed?
07:54 Again, it's no different isn't it? We've got some good spinners of course but if the seamen
07:57 need to bowl, they need to adapt and read the conditions of what it is. So whether we're
08:02 playing on good pitches or slow pitches, the team is good enough and equipped enough to
08:07 be able to adapt on that.
08:09 Is there a sense in the team that you still have a little chance of making the semis and
08:16 this India win, if it happens, can really spur you on?
08:20 I don't think we're necessarily thinking about the competition as such. I think we're more
08:25 focused on getting our performance right, getting the better levels of performance than
08:31 what we've shown in the last few weeks. So that sits over there and it will just look
08:38 after itself. If it happens, it happens. We know it will be very challenging. Mathematically
08:42 it's still possible but it's very tough.
08:49 As you said, you haven't lost your interest in 50-over cricket but as you said earlier
08:54 in this press conference, England didn't play too much 50-over cricket. You won last year
08:58 the T20 World Cup. So why didn't you plan for 50-over cricket? It means you have failed
09:05 to make a proper planning for this World Cup. And the second question is, it's been five
09:10 matches so far for England. You guys could not settle down your playing level. You have
09:15 changed so many players in and out.
09:18 Let's come back to the second one. The first question. I think nowadays the cricket structure
09:24 is so busy, right? It's really busy. You've got to plan in test matches, T20s, 50s and
09:30 what it is. And we're always trying to get the balance right. Sometimes we do, sometimes
09:35 we don't. Some teams play more 50-overs than others and it just doesn't always match up.
09:40 So we're still trying to get it right and we're still very focused on playing 50-over
09:43 World Cups, 50-over cricket. It's just when it fits into the schedule and as we know,
09:48 the cricket schedule is very busy.
09:49 What was your second question?
09:50 You've been playing matches so far, England could not settle down their playing level.
09:56 Why didn't you plan for 50-overs?
09:59 I think when you're in different conditions and different places to play different games,
10:04 you're always trying to find an edge. You're trying to find a difference where you think,
10:08 "OK, is this a pitch that we need three seamers or is this a pitch where we need three spinners
10:14 and match it up that way?" The batting has been pretty consistent, obviously, bar Ben
10:18 Stokes coming back in and Harry Brooke changing. So I think you've got to adapt. I don't think
10:24 you can go through any World Cup or any big competition with the same 11 players.
10:28 There are contrasting views over the umpire's call over DRS. What is your take? Because
10:37 there's a school of thought that thinks if the ball is hitting the stumps, it has to
10:42 be given out. And if it is not, it's not out. As simple as that. Whether it is hitting just
10:49 minutely, that's something different. So what is your take on umpire's call?
10:55 I don't think we need to change anything at the moment. It's been working pretty smooth
10:59 as you'd expect it to be. I think everyone knows the rules. Everyone has the same understanding
11:04 going into the game. So there's nothing to change at the moment. There's not been any
11:10 major obvious errors or anything that we need to worry about. So carry on as we have been.
11:14 Hi, Marcus. There are a lot of players in this England team who have had experience
11:21 of Indian conditions through the IPL and all that. Unlike say past teams who probably struggled
11:27 to adapt, has adaptability still been a big challenge for the team despite this experience?
11:32 And a second question, is there any view on maybe Jos opening the innings in the remaining
11:37 games given that he's had experience of that in India and done well?
11:40 Firstly, Jos, not to my knowledge, no. I can't believe that's going to happen. To the first
11:47 question, I think we've gained massive amounts of more experience in India because of the
11:54 guys playing the volume of cricket they have done. I think you're always learning. You're
11:58 always playing in different situations. It's just about getting the performance right on
12:02 the day and that's what we've not done. We've not been good enough on the performance of
12:05 the day and not been consistent enough with that.
12:08 Last question. One question only. Not too hard.
12:12 And then sign it, yeah? No? OK, we're done. Thank you.