Cricket: Trescothick rules himself out.

MARCUS TRESCOTHICK has ruled himself out of the reckoning from England selection this winter after failing to recover completely from his long-standing stress-related illness.

The 31-year-old Somerset left-hander has not been selected for England since returning early from Australia last winter with the same problem before the start of the Ashes series.

England were hopeful he had recovered and named him in their provisional 30-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 with a view to him making himself available for the tournament, which lasts only two weeks and starts on September 10 in South Africa.

But last night he informed the selectors he was not ready to tour again, stressing: "While I have been enjoying my cricket for Somerset this summer and feel that I am making good progress, I need to ensure that I am completely ready for a return to international cricket before making myself available for selection.

"I recently informed the selectors that I was happy to be included in the 30-man squad for the Twenty20 World Cup to leave all options open, but I am now clear that I should take more time to complete my recovery. I still have ambitions to play for England."

The news is bound to put the prospect of Trescothick ever featuring for England again in grave doubt after a career spanning 76 Tests and 123 one-day internationals.

Trescothick has been forced to return home early from his last two England tours - he flew back from India in February 2006 and again from Sydney last November - and there are bound to be concerns among the selectors about choosing him again.

THE first day's play in Warwickshire's game against Sri Lanka A was washed out after persistent rain at Edg-baston yesterday.

CAPTION(S):

NOT READY... Marcus Trescothick is still feeling the stress