Marcus Trescothick

One of the best batsmen of his generation, Trescothick will undoubtedly go down as one of England’s finest players.

Despite displaying little foot movement, the opener’s fantastic eye and ability to time the ball helped him become one of the world’s leading stars.

Trescothick is adept at playing both spin and pace equally well and is known for being brutal on deliveries outside off stump in particular.

Yet the Somerset man’s initial call-up to the England squad came as something of a surprise, as it was not a reflection of his form at the time.

In 1999, Trescothick struck a sparkling 167 - including five sixes - on a green top against Glamorgan when the highest other score was 50. At the time, the 23-year-old cannot have realised the impact it would have.

In attendance that day was Duncan Fletcher - at that point the coach of Glamorgan - who later that year would be appointed England’s new chief.

One of his first decisions was to call up Trescothick and the rest, as they say, is history.

The left-hander quickly established himself as the national team’s most consistent batsman in Test and one-day international cricket.

Despite not scoring a century, he was the second leading run-scorer in the historic 2005 Ashes series, often providing much needed impetus at the top of the order.

The following year did not begin well though as Trescothick was forced to return home following the final warm-up game in India due to personal reasons.

He returned that summer to face Sri Lanka and Pakistan and was also part of the Ashes touring party at the end of 2006, only to return home after a recurrence of his stress-related illness.

Trescothick announced his retirement from international cricket in March 2008, but remained a prolific presence in the domestic game and frequently topped the country’s run-scoring charts.

He captained Somerset to runners-up finishes in the LV= County Championship, Clydesdale Bank 40 and Friends Life t20 in 2010, before seeing his side also finish second in both limited-overs competitions the following year.