Trescothick pushes on for 25th season

Former England opener Marcus Trescothick will play on for a 25th season of county cricket after agreeing to a new one-year contract.

The left-hander, who will be 41 when the 2017 county season gets underway, has agreed to push on with Somerset next season, 24 years after he made his first-class debut.

The opener averages more than 50 in first-class cricket this season, helping Somerset to their current position of fourth in Division One.

"I have made no secret of my desire to carry on playing for Somerset for as long as I can," the 40-year-old said in a statement.

"I’m really enjoying my cricket at the moment and I still have the hunger to succeed. I am delighted that I will be a part of this Club for another year.

"It’s a really exciting time for the County at the moment with the talent that we have coming through and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next 12 months."

Trescothick made his Somerset debut on May 13, 1993 in a match against Lancashire that also featured Wasim Akram, Mike Atherton, Mushtaq Ahmed, Phil DeFreitas and Chris Tavare.

He has since played more than 800 times for his county, scoring more than 39,000 runs in all formats, and the decision to play on next year means he's almost certain to reach the 25,000 run milestone in first-class cricket (he currently has 24,623 runs with four matches remaining this season).

The announcement came exactly 10 years to the day since Trescothick last represented England, the final match of a six-year international career that featured 76 Tests, 123 One-Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals.

The opener finished his Test career with 5825 runs and 14 centuries, including a highest score of 219 against South Africa at The Oval in 2003, and he was a part of the side that famously regained the Ashes in 2005.

But his international career was cut short due to a battle with depression and he has since used his platform as a cricketer to promote awareness about mental illness.

"Marcus still has so much to offer, both on and off the field," said Somerset's Director of Cricket Matthew Maynard, who played alongside Trescothick with Somerset and England during his own playing career.

"The runs he scores, the experience he brings and the knowledge that he passes on to the younger players make him a vital member of this squad.

"Over the last two seasons Marcus has demonstrated a tremendous desire to continue playing for the County and we are all delighted that he will be back out there breaking records for us again next year."

When Marcus Trescothick made his first-class debut ...

• Allan Border was Australia's captain
• Graham Gooch was England's captain
• Shane Warne had played just 11 Tests
• Glenn McGrath, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Michael Slater and Darren Lehmann had yet to play for Australia
• Steve Smith was three years old
• Travis Head hadn't been born
• Pakistan were World Cup champions