Trescothick vows to find lost runs

On England's 1990 tour of the Caribbean, the West Indies fast bowlers turned up to practice sessions wearing T-shirts with "Form is Temporary, Class is Permanent" emblazoned on them. If they had been worn by anybody other than Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, three of the greatest fast bowlers to have played the game, they would have been considered arrogant.

In sporting terms, the statement means that the careers of form (good) players will have peaks and troughs whereas a class (great) player will perform consistently to a high level. A batsman who is currently sitting around the comma of this declaration is the England opener Marcus Trescothick.

When in form, Trescothick looks awesome. He is a powerful, clean striker of the ball. With a range of stroke that allows him to score runs all around the wicket there are days when bowlers find it almost impossible to bowl at him. However, when out of form, as he currently is, he looks terrible. The Somerset captain is not a Michael Atherton, a player who can scratch around and get an ugly 30 or 40. At the moment he is a form player.

In Australia, Trescothick has struggled. He has been targeted and appears a shadow of the player we witnessed smashing the Sri Lankan and Indian bowlers about during the summer. The main reason for this poor run is due to the ability of the bowlers he is facing. Australia have identified a weakness in his game – bowling a fullish length just outside off-stump – and have bowled to it.

Such high-quality bowling, and this type of delivery, are something a class player should be able to deal with. So for the 26-year-old, who has an impressive Test average of 42.10 in the 29 matches he has played, questions are being asked about how good he really is.

Trescothick, who captained England today against the Prime Minister's XI here because Nasser Hussain was nursing a thigh strain – which appears the politically correct way of having the game off – is aware of his problems.

"It [this tour] has obviously not gone as well as I would have liked it to," Trescothick said, "but I am still hanging in there and looking forward to each innings I play."

The first thing that leaves you when you are out of form is confidence and as a batsman that fraction of a second delay – caused by doubt – is the difference between the ball hitting the middle or the edge of the bat. Rediscovering confidence is a chicken and egg predicament. You need runs to be confident and confidence to score runs.

There is only one way to get out of this situation and that is hard work. "I am desperate to do well and score a lot of runs," Trescothick said. "Maybe I am trying too hard – I don't really know. Players go through these phases now and then, it's just my turn at the moment and I am working hard to get through it.

"Getting the balance right between doing enough and not stressing myself out is something I am trying to work out. At times you can over analyse things and beat yourself up in the nets when all you need to do is get out in the middle and relax. This, though, is easier said than done."

The captaincy and these one-day matches may help rather than hinder his return to form. As captain he will concentrate on other things rather than himself, and in one-day cricket he has to be positive which is the way he plays when at his best. Both will encourage Trescothick to rely on his natural instinct and this is often the simplest way out of a trough. The next month is a big one for Trescothick because if he fails to deliver against Australia the doubts will continue and he knows it.

"The players that go through these spells and come back quickly tend to be the best players in the world," he said. "I am trying to get through it as quickly as possible."