Trescothick gets set for India

Far from being cricketing weather at Taunton, there is sleet in the air at the County Ground and Marcus Trescothick, glowing after a workout with his personal trainer, is eager to board Tuesday's plane to Mumbai and get back to warm weather and his chosen profession.

Less than 18 months after he was first picked for England, Somerset's burly left-hander has made phenomenal progress through the ranks. Michael Atherton's retirement has left him as England's senior opening batsman, and such is his standing that, at 25, he was captaining England in Bulawayo last month after Nasser Hussain decided not to risk aggravating a calf injury. It went well too -the toss won, a rapid 50 and an England win.

"Playing for England was my main thing, but to be captain was something different," Trescothick recalls. "It was a fantastic chance for me. England 3-0 up in the series, with the team playing really well. You couldn't have asked for much more than that."

It was also a boost to morale after a desperately difficult summer for England. "This was our chance to turn it around completely. Zimbabwe have had a difficult time of late - we almost understood how they were going, and how they were thinking. That's the time you've got to nail teams down - when they're in that situation."

Amid England's traumas during the Ashes series, it went almost unnoticed that Trescothick was their second-highest run scorer. And although his appearances with Somerset were strictly limited, his team finished as runners-up in the CricInfo Championship - their highest-ever position - and Trescothick was in the side at Lord's for the Cheltenham & Gloucester triumph.

"If you win one trophy in a summer you class it as a good year," Trescothick said. "But to be runners-up in the Championship is quite an achievement. It's going to take a lot more hard work to get to first - it's going to mean strengthening the squad, and the existing players improving their performance by another ten per cent."

As he prepares to put on his England shirt again, Trescothick is particularly wary of India, whom he rates as the best of the sub-continental sides on their own patch. "Their batting is so strong. They can dominate games, as they did when they beat Australia 2-1 last year - a great series to watch. We'll obviously have videos, and try to read situations before they arise, but it's going to be very tough, and we'll have to play at our best to beat them."

Trescothick - hundred in Galle Photo CricInfo

And the batting challenges? Spin and heat come high on the list. "There are good spinners throughout that part of the world. You've got Murali, Saqlain, Harbhajan and Kumble. I've faced Kumble a bit in county cricket, but Harbhajan is obviously different. He's a bit like Saqlain, but with a tricky action - one of those who can be difficult to pick up. He's had a good time of late, so hopefully the tables will turn and we'll be able to dominate him."

Trescothick scored his first international century on the sub-continent, in the Galle Test against Sri Lanka at the start of the year. His first at home followed against Pakistan at Old Trafford, but on both occasions he ended up on the losing side. A match-winning ton in Mohali next month? That would set up a series to savour.