England return to Edgbaston

By Sam Hathaway
May 24 2006

England return to Edgbaston in good mood tomorrow as they have had many successes at this particular ground. Marcus Trescothick hopes to build off his recent hundred at Lords and he knows he has had pleasant times here too.

The Somerset opener and England star is ready to make amends for his team's shoddy performance in the last match against Sri Lanka with another great innings. On a personal note, this ground has always been good to the left hander and he can't wait to play here again.

“I enjoy playing here,” said Trescothick. “You generally get a good wicket, which is nice, and a fast outfield, so for at least a couple of days during the Test you get a very good wicket to bat on.”

Trescothick averages a fantastic 80.37 from his last five test matches here at Edgbaston so he has every right to be buoyant.

“You always have good memories about grounds when you’ve scored runs there in the past,” he added. “If you score runs somewhere, every time you go there you get a vibe.

“That’s not to say you don’t have that at other grounds, but you do feel a little bit more comfortable at certain places when you remember good things about the place.”

“Just coming back to Birmingham brings back memories of last year and everything that happened,” he added. “It was such a memorable Test match and once we get back out on the pitch I’m sure we’ll remember it again even more.

“It was a great game and everybody enjoyed the crowd and the buzz of the series. That kick-started the series for us and hopefully this will be the same.”

That is exactly what England need, a kick start, if they are to win this series and maybe the atmosphere and pitch will help England come out on top.