Tresco ready for lift off

Marcus Trescothick is relaxed and up for the challenge

England batsman Marcus Trescothick is fit and anxious for the Ashes action to start after missing the recent ICC Champions Trophy with a stress-related illness.

Trescothick will join up with the rest of his England team-mates in London on Thursday, before flying out to Australia on Friday for the five-match Test series beginning on November 23 in Brisbane.

The Somerset batsman has been preparing at the indoor facilities at the Taunton ground for what will be the toughest examination of his career with the Australians keen for revenge after their 2-1 defeat during 2005.

Trescothick will be able to call upon the experience of 76 Test matches in which he has scored nearly 6,000 runs at an average of 43.79.

Marcus Trescothick in full flow with the bat © Getty Images

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Although he missed out on a hundred in the 2005 Ashes he showed his consistency with an average of 43.10, and at 31 years-old is in the prime of his batting life.

Trescothick said: "I am really looking forward to the forthcoming Ashes series and all I want to do now is to just get on with it.

"I have been training hard and feel pretty good and now I am raring to go."

England’s opening opening tour game is a one-day fixture at Canberra on November 10, where he will face some old friends.

"In the first match of the tour we play a one day game against the Prime Minister's XI who will have Cameron White in their team, so it looks like I will be facing a Somerset team-mate in the first game that we play out in Australia, which should be interesting," Trescothick added.

"It is going to be hard-fought, like it always is out there, and no doubt about that.

“However we are going out to Australia as the holders of the Ashes, and not many England sides have done that before, so we will be doing our very best to make sure that we come back with them as well.”