Marcus Trescothick - England's Batting Coach on Day 4 of the Oval
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00:00 How confident are you now that you can still win this test?
00:23 The game is in a great position and we're still positive about the job we've got to do.
00:31 They've had a good start with the bat and seen off the new ball, but in the course of the four innings so far,
00:38 the new ball seems to be the best time to bat.
00:41 It definitely slows down, gets harder to score and the ball seems to grip a little bit more off the pitch as it gets a little bit older.
00:49 A couple of early ones in the morning and suddenly we're right back on and right in the mix again.
00:55 After what happened in Manchester, it would be a real shame if the weather intervened again.
00:58 Have you had a look at the forecast and how much play and opportunity you may get to take those wickets?
01:03 I think tomorrow is a little bit better, isn't it?
01:05 Manchester was unique, two days solid, but tomorrow I think we'll get the odd shower from what I see and from what I hear.
01:13 So be it, we'll judge it as we go along.
01:16 But I'm hoping it's not going to be as bad as it was last week.
01:19 Which could help the bowlers, I suppose?
01:21 Of course it does, yes.
01:22 I think it's harder to bat when you have those interruptions because of the on-off situation of concentration.
01:27 The bowlers get a bit more time to put feet up, get a bit more work with the massage and physios and things.
01:34 So you can always be a little bit fresher and ready for each session or each spell when you get back out there.
01:40 And injury updates, Mark Wood, is he okay because he didn't come into this act until the 33rd over?
01:44 Yes, he's fit to bowl and I think pretty much like everybody there's little aches and pains that are going off the back of a big five test series.
01:53 Pretty much both teams would be travelling in the same way at the moment, but yes, everyone's fit to bowl.
01:58 So Mark Wood was held back because of that?
02:01 It's a tactical decision, yes.
02:03 And Maureen Alli, how is he?
02:06 Okay, you saw him bowl today, he's obviously had the little niggle that he's got.
02:12 It's easier over the last couple of days, he's obviously had a bit of rest and put his feet up.
02:17 It's not 100%, of course it's not going to be for probably two or three weeks from now,
02:22 but we've got a little bit out of him and we will continue to try and do that again tomorrow.
02:27 Marcus, with Stuart's announcement yesterday, I just wondered if you could tell us what that did to the atmosphere in the changing room this morning.
02:37 Did it redouble people's desperation to finish this on a high?
02:42 No, I don't think so.
02:44 We go about the business in the same way, we're trying to win an Ashes Test match,
02:49 so you're not trying to gather anything different or the want to do it any differently.
02:55 Of course we want to win, we want to win the game for the team and obviously you got that something extra Stuart's last game.
03:01 It was brilliant when he told us, we were obviously a little bit surprised but sad at the same time.
03:09 But so be it, let's go out tomorrow and win the game.
03:12 Do you feel like as somebody who's worked with him and played with him, Stuart's the guy who's going out on a high, going out at the peak of his powers?
03:18 Right at the top, doesn't he? He doesn't get any bigger than what we've got right now, especially if we go ahead and win the game.
03:23 Even if we lose the game, he's still right at the top.
03:26 He's had a great series and been brilliant for the team for a long period of time.
03:31 Any time you get an opportunity to go out the back end of an Ashes is a massive honour for whoever it is.
03:37 As a batter yourself, it's very Stuart Broad to hit the last ball of his cricket career for six.
03:44 Most people is when their stumps are knocked over or they've nicked one to slip or something like that, or you're bowling.
03:50 But to think you could hit your last ball for six, we were all thinking about declaring at that point and bringing everyone in.
03:56 But good for him, really. It was a great reception, wasn't it? It was really nice.
04:00 Him and Jimmy walking out together. I know Jimmy was hanging back a little bit.
04:03 But for Stuart to get a just reward really for the hard work and dedication he's put in for such a long period of time was really nice to see.
04:12 For him to finish with that six into the crowd, did it just give you a little feeling that maybe he's got a special finish with the ball in him too?
04:19 We were talking this morning about if there was one more fairy tale left, it would be ideal if it was Stuart's last five for one to win or two to win.
04:28 He runs and gets his fifth wicket or something like that. That would be brilliant, wouldn't it?
04:31 But we don't very often see quite the fairy tales that we want to see at times, but it would be lovely to dream of it.
04:43 Marcus, how difficult do you think it was for the players to stay level given all the fanfare this morning? Stay in the right frame of mind?
04:51 I think it's been fine. Everyone's gone about their business in preparation, in warm-ups and doing the same things.
04:57 It's really been great watching some of the tributes on the TV and some of the footage they put out.
05:03 But the guys are very professional about what they're trying to do and get back on and focused on playing the game and getting back into it.
05:10 That will be no different tomorrow.
05:13 Was there ever a point when the wicket doesn't come early after you've had all that, that it's kind of a bit of a drop-off
05:19 and the players have got to try and get themselves up again, if you know what I mean?
05:22 I think saying 'getting themselves up' is the wrong way to do it.
05:25 I think whenever teams put on big partnerships and you don't get the wickets, there's a flat period where you're trying to work out what it is.
05:35 You naturally get a wicket, the crowd goes up and all the atmosphere changes completely.
05:40 That's what you get in any game, in any context, regardless of any situation or retirements or what comes around.
05:47 They've put on a good partnership, it's made it pretty tricky for us, but we've still got a decent amount of runs in the bank that we can work for tomorrow.
05:59 Marcus, when you set them 3-8-4, which is obviously by historical standards a massive target in Test cricket,
06:06 did you know that this surface was going to be one where it was going to take quite a lot of that, the five and a half sessions that you had to do it?
06:14 I.e. did you know how severe the pitch was?
06:18 I think it wasn't going to be a 1.50 bowled out, that's for sure.
06:21 It wasn't going to be running and maybe be a bit like heading Lee on day one when you're expecting the ball to go past the bat every over.
06:28 Of course we know that's not the case and we know that statistically the over was the best batting pitch in the country.
06:34 That is what it is and you plan for those sort of scenarios, but hoping that you'd get back out there, the pressure of the occasion,
06:42 the bowlers that we've got, maybe a little bit of spin from the pitch or a bit of assistance and suddenly you get them two or three down.
06:48 They've played well to get themselves in this position at the moment.
06:51 We've just seen a ball change ten overs or five overs before we came off tonight and hopefully with a bit of rain around it might give a bit of spice to the pitch overnight.
07:02 You plan for all these eventualities about what's going to happen and hopefully then you execute on that plan the next day.
07:10 Mark, as you mentioned the ball change, this series has swung on fairly small moments.
07:17 That one looked like it was starting to swing whereas the other one hadn't.
07:20 Was it important then to get off before the rain got to it and was the feeling that it was doing a bit more than the other one?
07:26 I think it was just a bit harder more than anything else.
07:28 That was the difference, the boys could sense it with the balls making a different noise on the bat so immediately you've got a bit more life in it.
07:35 Balls seem to have gone very soft very quickly in this game and the course of this series.
07:40 I know both captains have tried to change them on numerous occasions.
07:44 Whether it makes any difference when the rain came down so it's safe for tomorrow, who knows.
07:50 Let's see what happens tomorrow and see how it reacts again.
07:53 Australia will get a heavy roller in the morning and then we'll try and go to work after that.
08:00 Anyone else?
08:01 Thank you.
08:04 Thank you.
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