Michael Vaughan led the tributes to Marcus Trescothick, his friend and England team-mate, after his decision to retire from international cricket this weekend. Trescothick made his announcement to end speculation before the start of this season, admitting that he would not be able to go on tour because of his stress-related problems.

“On behalf of all the England players, I would like to thank Marcus for his contribution to the team,” Vaughan, the England captain, said. “He has been an outstanding player for England in both forms of the game, a pleasure to captain and a terrific influence in our dressing-room.

“This is a tough decision for any international cricketer to make, but I believe it is the right one for him and he has my full support as he now embarks on the next stage of his cricketing career.

“I know how much Somerset County Cricket club means to him and I am sure that he will now be devoting all his energies to helping the club achieve further success in the future.”

Trescothick, 32, said: “My desire to play cricket is as strong as it ever was. But, due to the problems that I have experienced, travelling abroad has become extremely stressful for me.”

Vaughan would dearly love still to be able to call upon the solidity of Trescothick, whose last Test was the infamous one against Pakistan at the Brit Oval in 2006, to open the batting for England.

Trescothick scored 5,825 runs in 76 Tests at an average of 43.79, with 14 hundreds. In one-day internationals, he accumulated 4,335 runs in 123 matches at an average of 37.37 and a strike-rate of 85.21. The Somerset batsman, who took 95 catches in Tests, is also sorely missed by England in his role at first slip.

However, Brian Rose, the Somerset director of cricket, said that Trescothick's influence cannot be measured in numbers alone. Trescothick, who has his benefit this year, made a triumphant return to the county game last season as Somerset's leading batsman, with 1,343 first-class runs at 61.04 as the team won the second division of the LV County Championship. “He was obviously tremendous for Somerset, not just in terms of statistics but also in the dressing-room, and I have no doubt that the same thing is going to happen this year,” Rose said,

“I had two or three good conversations with Marcus last Monday and Tuesday and he decided to make the announcement in a fortnight, so it has been brought forward [by just over] a week, but I think it was a good decision for him to make at this time.”

Trescothick, who has been training with Somerset throughout the winter, has two years left on his Somerset contract, but Rose said that his desire for the sport was such that he could envisage him playing on for several more years.

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