Strauss offers Trescothick support

David Graveney and Duncan Fletcher have plenty to ponder © Getty Images

Andrew Strauss has backed Marcus Trescothick to play a full part in the Ashes series despite his withdrawal from the Champions Trophy squad, although he is likely to give up his place against Pakistan. Trescothick pulled out of the India trip to continue treatment for a stress-related illness he has suffered since England's winter tour.

"Australia is going to be a big test for all of us and it's going to be a big test for Tres as well," said Strauss as he prepared to lead England in the fourth one-day international against Pakistan. "He hasn't got to the stage he's at in his career without being able to overcome tests and I see no reason to see why he can't do it again.

"It's so hard to put a value on how important Tres is to the team because he does so much off the pitch - he's always helping out people when he can, he's always trying to provide a good atmosphere in the dressing room and tries to set an example for other players to follow.

"That has never changed and I don't think it ever will do because it's such an important part of who he is and the type of cricketer he is, but there are issues he has to address and I have no reason to suspect he won't make a full recovery and be back for the Ashes and be raring to go."

Trescothick has had a poor summer, following a century in the first Test against Sri Lanka, and fell for a first-ball duck in the third ODI when he was bowled by Shoaib Akhtar. But Strauss says he has noticed very little difference in Trescothick, on the field, throughout the season.

"From a personal point of view I haven't seen any difference in the way he's batted this summer. I know he hasn't had the best of summers but in terms of what he's been like out in the middle, I haven't seen a problem.

"I think it's very much an off-field thing for him. On the field he can apply himself, but off the field there are problems which he needs to keep working on."

Trescothick is expected to be named in the Ashes squad, when the announcement is made on Tuesday, but Strauss couldn't guarantee him his place for the remaining two matches against Pakistan.

"There is a chance he won't play, but we haven't decided that yet. One side of the argument is to give someone else some experience, but Tres is a very experienced player for us and we want to win every game we play."

The selectors are likely to take the chance to have another look at Alastair Cook, who played two matches against Sri Lanka earlier in the summer, or hand Ed Joyce a belated opportunity in the side after his ankle injury during the Twenty20 against Sri Lanka. The other possible change, following the two-wicket defeat at the Rose Bowl, is a debut for Graham Onions in place of the erratic Sajid Mahmood.

Pakistan's problems, on the other hand, are of an altogether more prosaic nature. Inzamam-ul-Haq has urged his side to improve their fielding, which many felt was shambolic in the third ODI at the Rose Bowl, but which many others will recognise was hardly their worst. "We want to win this series comprehensively but to do that our fielding has to improve. We've been good with the bat and the ball but the fielding is simply not up to the mark. I've told the boys that the only way we can keep on winning ODIs is through better fiedling."

Bob Woolmer has urged his team not to get ahead of themselves despite being 2-0 up in the series. "One-day cricket is a lottery, we all know that," he said. "England played very well at the Rose Bowl so we will have to be on our mettle if we are to win this game.

"We need to lift that intensity level and do better than we did - and I think we can. Particularly in international cricket now any result is possible. We have to play better than we did there, where we were grateful to a fine innings from Younis Khan. But if you can win playing badly it's not necessarily a bad thing."

England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Jamie Dalrymple, 7 Rikki Clarke, 8 Chris Read (wk), 9 Jon Lewis, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 Graham Onions

Pakistan (probable) 1 Shoaib Malik, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Kamran Akmal (wk), 9 Naved-ul-Hasan, 10 Shoaib Akhtar, 11 Mohammad Asif