Trescothick sees parallels with 2005 attack as England seamers gel
ESPN · Vithushan Ehantharajah · 2026-08-31T11:47:36+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Marcus Trescothick believes England's seam attack can follow in the footsteps of the great 2005 Ashes-winning vintage, and is willing to give the foursome another outing in the third Pakistan Test at Edgbaston to fast-track that development.
Victory at Lord's by 194 runs in the second Test on Sunday handed England their first series win since the tour of New Zealand at the end of 2024, and Joe Root's first since 2021 as returning Test captain. Their two wins, sealed across barely seven days of cricket, were primarily the product of a four-man pace barrage that has put Pakistan's batters through the wringer.
Comparisons to England's successful 2005 attack of Steve Harmison, Andrew Flintoff, Simon Jones and Matthew Hoggard have arisen due to the variety possessed by the class of 2026.
Jofra Archer's searing pace has claimed eight wickets at 21.87. Josh Tongue's beyond-the-perpendicular awkwardness a hearty 13 at 12.46. Gus Atkinson's single wicket at an eye-watering 125 belies his sharpness and persistence. But the headline act has been Ollie Robinson's traditional medium pace bringing it all together.
After returning to the fray at the start of the summer under Ben Stokes, at Lord's in the first Test against New Zealand, Robinson has banked player-of-the-match awards in all three outings this season. By claiming four wickets in both innings in his second appearance at Lord's, he has picked up a startling 16 wickets at 7.18 in this series alone. This season's haul of 23 at 8.34 has moved him to 99 career dismissals at 19.53. Aside from India's Jasprit Bumrah (234 wickets at 19.39) no bowler in more than 100 years has claimed more wickets at a sub-20 average.
Trescothick had one of the best seats in the house at slip 21 years ago, when England bested a legendary Australia line-up 2-1. The parallels then and now are clear for him to see.
"I think we've got a good contrast in what we're trying to do at the moment," Trescothick said. "What we do have is three guys bowling at 92 miles an hour, which is really nice to have in your armoury, and to have the potency in what you're trying to do. The more that they play together and the more experience that everyone gets together, then it sort of fits into place.
"We do have some real skill, and you look back to '05 and the sort of comparisons of Harmy, Fred, Simon and Hoggy. But I'm enjoying the fact that we've got four who are match-fit at the moment and we've a few behind it that we're starting to get ready."
Conditions, of course, have skewed heavily towards both attacks, with stand-in England skipper Joe Root wondering if a reinforced seam on the Dukes ball has exacerbated movement off this summer's pitches. Saud Shakeel's 97 on day four is now the highest individual score across either side.
Tougher challenges for England's quicks await in the winter, with three Tests in South Africa and two in Bangladesh. They will then return for 2027's home summer to face Bangladesh in a single Test ahead of seeking a first Ashes win since 2015. Trescothick is cautiously optimistic.
"I don't want to get too far ahead on it because there's a lot of cricket to be played beforehand," he said. "But I think we're building an attack in four people that we've had here in this game, and a few guys backing it up, with pace and skill around it. And I think combining the two together and the more Test matches they all gain together, the better opportunity we've got when you go to more challenging conditions, and away from home in particular.
"So no doubt there'll be five, six or seven bowlers going to South Africa, and it'll be the same for next summer when we come back here for the Ashes. And they'll be in a much better position than what they've been for the last couple of years."
As such, Trescothick is willing to roll out the same attack for the third Test at Edgbaston, which begins on September 9. With a long break between Tests, Trescothick sees little reason to tinker. The squad will report back for duty in Birmingham on September 6.
A failure to be ruthless in hammering home advantages has hurt England in the past. In a similar situation against Sri Lanka at the end of the 2024 summer - 2-0 up with one to play - they used the final Test at the Kia Oval to ring the changes, handing a debut to Leicestershire's raw left-arm seamer Josh Hull. That was as much to do with fast-tracking the next generation as England's maddening attitude towards the World Test Championship.
There is also personal pride on offer for Trescothick to end his interim stint in style, ahead of Stephen Fleming's arrival as permanent Test coach. With Mike Hussey mooted as an incoming batting/assistant coach, Trescothick's future in the Test set-up is uncertain. He remains part of Brendon McCullum's staff with the limited-overs sides.
"Well, first and foremost I want to win the series 3-0, and I think if you're going to do that, you want to play the most consistent team possible.
"I think we made a big decision throughout the course of this season, with the white-ball series and the white-ball players, to really ram home opportunities when you get the chance, and we want to try and continue that on.
"It's not a case of we're going to go there [Edgbaston] and ease off the gas. We want to go there and win the series 3-0, so that is what exactly what I'll be telling the players this evening, and when we're prepping for next week, is [to keep] the hunger and desire to keep driving forward, and keep doing well even when you've had success."