Trescothick reflects the mood

Marcus Trescothick: 'Coming up against someone like Sanath Jayasuriya in that sort of form is pretty difficult' © Getty Images

The post-match formalities after Sri Lanka's amazing run chase at Headingley were played out with the surreal backdrop of the final throws of England's World Cup clash against Portugal. Marcus Trescothick, handed the role of talking to the press in place of Andrew Strauss, could hardly get in and out fast enough - and not just because of England's humiliation.

"If you get 300 on any wicket you fancy your chances, but we just didn't get the ball in the right areas," Trescothick said, while trying to keep an eye on the final minutes of extra time. "But coming up against someone like Sanath Jayasuriya in that sort of form is pretty difficult."

Trescothick said that Jayasuriya's onslaught was something that he hadn't really witnessed before: "You get the odd person who gets 70 or 80 but he takes the game away from you before you get a chance."

He admitted that there isn't much they could have done, but refused to offer excuses for another bowling performance that verged on the abject - however well Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga played. "You've just got to chat to the young guys and offer as much as you can. There is always something you can offer and we tried it all today. But you can still bowl well and that will make him try something different. You do have to give him a certain amount of credit."

Trescothick backed Strauss's captaincy, saying that an honest assesment of his leadership skills would do him good.

"I do think he's done a decent job. It's a really tough situation that he is in," he said. "When things are not going right and everything you try goes wrong, it is easy for people to criticise. But I think the thing is to just give Andrew a fair crack of the whip, and then we'll have a better idea of how good a captain he is."

Outside of the press conferences the groans and cheers of the remaining crowd, watching the football on the big screen, could be heard. We all know the final result by now - the footballers are coming home and can only start thinking about their future. The cricket team is in a similar position, except their future is rather more imminent, with a four-Test series against Pakistan starting on July 13.

"Our record in Tests is far better than the one-day stuff," said Trescothick as he tried to search for the positives. "We have ten days off now and we have to get our think caps on and prepare for a tough series against Pakistan."

England fully deserved their 5-0 drubbing and have been well off target throughout the series, a problem that found its way to Germany today and made it a tough day for the English.