Gooch throws weight behind 'Stresscothick'

London, Nov 15 (UNI) Marcus Trescothick's last minute withdrawal from the Ashes tour may have dealt a severe blow to England's hopes Down Under but former captain Graham Gooch has sympathy for the opener and said the southpaw made the right decision to quit the tour if he was not in the right frame of mind.

''I am shocked. He is a big player for England with a lot of experience. But he is not going to be much use if he is not mentally right,'' Gooch told Five Live Sport.

''An Ashes tour is the toughest mentally to compete in because Australia don't hold back. So if he is not 100%, he is no use to them,'' he added.

Sympathising with the 30-year-old batsman who had earlier withdrawn from an Indian tour earilier this year for a similar stress-related illness, Gooch said, ''Playing top-level sport can be stressful, and stress affects people in different ways.

''I can sympathise with him, having been through that scenario of being away from your family for long periods on tour,'' he added.

On the impact of Trescothick's pull out, Gooch said, ''I personally think in 12 months Alastair Cook would have been opening for England anyway, but it is still a big loss. They have a very short warm-up period before the Ashes and would have already decided what the team was going to be.

''But at least they have got their best six batsmen out there already. Whoever flies out is going to be carrying the drinks,'' he added.

Former spinner Phil Tufnell was naturally not happy with the timing of the incident.

''It's not great for England's chances. It's just a big blow when you didn't want it,'' Tufnell told Five Live.

''Marcus is a world-class performer and the Aussies would have been worried about him. If he gets in, he can score big runs and he's a good player against Shane Warne. It's crucial for England to have a settled and solid opening partnership this winter and that's where you get the whole base from and the confidence grows,'' he observed.

Trescothick's Somerset team-mate Andy Caddick described it as a ''bolt from the blue''.

''I remember talking to Duncan Fletcher about him when he was on the verge of playing for England and he was a very strong, mentally tough individual,'' Caddick told BBC News 24.

''Unfortunately this illness has been a bit of a bane for him for the last 12 months. It is just sad that a player of his quality has suffered from it again.

''But he is still young and hopefully with the support of his family and team-mates, he will come back and play for England again,'' added the former England pacer.

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