Trescothick eyes 'opportunity' of England white-ball job

Marcus Trescothick says he is looking forward to the “opportunity” of pushing his case to be England’s next white-ball head coach.

Former batter Trescothick, assistant coach of the Test side, will take temporary charge for the limited-overs series against Australia next month after Matthew Mott left in July.

Asked if he wants the job full-time, the 48-year-old did not deny an interest in the post.

"It’s not something I ever thought about before, until I got this opportunity now," he said.

"I’m not necessarily thinking any further ahead than the end of the Australia series.

"I’m really excited about doing the job. We’ll work it out a little bit more from there."

England will name a squad on Monday for the three T20s and five one-day internationals against Australia.

There is likely to be a number of new faces after the disappointing 50-over and T20 World Cup defences of the past year. With the first T20 beginning the day after the third Test against Sri Lanka is due to finish, players in the Test side will also miss at least part of the Australia series.

England split the head coach positions in 2022 and Trescothick is assistant to Test head coach Brendon McCullum. Given the congested and overlapping nature of England’s schedule, he would be unlikely to be able to combine roles with the Test and white-ball teams.

"I’ve been very much focussed on the job we’re doing here," said Trescothick, an opener who played 76 Tests, 123 one-day internationals and three T20s for England.

"You plan your winter. We’ve got Tests in Pakistan, then New Zealand, so I’m so ingrained in that at the moment. I’ve not really sat down and said ‘right, this is where I’ll try to go, this is what I’ll try to do’."

On the white-ball job, he said: "I’m looking forward to the opportunity, for sure."

England have begun the process to find Mott’s full-time replacement, working alongside a recruitment firm. They travel to the West Indies for a white-ball series in November, preparing for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next year, but there is not thought to be a timescale on the hunt for a new coach.

Kumar Sangakkara, the former Sri Lanka batter who now lives in Dorset and has worked alongside England captain Jos Buttler at the Indian Premier League, has called the job "an exciting prospect".

Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who has worked with the white-ball team as a consultant on a casual basis, including at the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean in July, will not be with the squad for the Australia series.

However, England have not ended their association with Flintoff, who is a close friend of managing director Rob Key. He could be used in other roles in the future.

One player in line for call-up to the white-ball squad is wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, who continued an impressive start to his Test career with 72 not out on the second day of the series opener against Sri Lanka at Emirates Old Trafford.

Smith, 24, helped the home side to 259-6, a lead of 23 runs, on a Thursday truncated by the Manchester weather.

"He just seems very suited to playing international cricket," said Trescothick.

"Whether he plays some of or all of the Australia series, I don’t know. We’ll wait and see and work out what squad we’re going to pick."