Trescothick says England up to the challenge by AFP

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Player:	ME Trescothick
Event:	England in Pakistan 2005/06

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DateLine: 11th November 2005

 

New England captain Marcus Trescothick said his team were ready to overcome a disastrous lead-up to the first Test against Pakistan, in which they lost both a warm-up game and their usual skipper. "The boys are in good shape and are switched on, and although we lost our captain Michael Vaughan and the build-up game, we are up to the challenge," Trescothick told reporters on Friday.

 

The 29-year-old opener was named as stand-in captain after Vaughan, who took England to their first Ashes triumph against Australia for 18 years, was ruled out with a recurrence of an old knee injury.

 

England also go into the Test in the central city of Multan on the back of a six-wicket defeat by Pakistan A in Lahore this week, but Trescothick said he was still confident.

 

"Obviously, it wasn't an ideal preparation to lose a game coming into the Test, not a situation that you want to be in, but we lost the warm-up game in South Africa last year and went on to win the series 2-1," Trescothick said.

 

"It does give you a little bit of a wake-up call to make sure you do remain switched on and you work hard going into the Test," he added.

 

Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq told the same news conference that he thought the two teams were level pegging.

 

"Both teams start on an even keel. My young team has the ability to pull off a win and we would do our best to do that," said Inzamam, whose side has won two of their three Tests at the venue in his hometown.

(Article: Copyright © 2005 AFP)