As the England side take the field at The Oval today for the Ashes decider, one man who played a key part in the team’s success four years ago will be absent.

Opening batsman Marcus Trescothick retired from Test cricket last year after a series of battles with depression which he documented in his award-winning book Coming Back to Me.

The 32-year-old, still widely regarded as the best player in county cricket, was tipped in some quarters for a one-off comeback in a match England need to win to regain the famous urn.

But Trescothick ended the speculation by using his weekly column in the Bristol Evening Post to rule himself out of contention.

In the column, the player revealed that a nightmare about being unable to get his kit out of the bag in time for the team photo helped make up his mind.

The story was followed up by national media outlets including Sky and The Times.

Evening Post editor Mike Norton said: “I was delighted that Marcus chose the Evening Post to settle the debate about his England place.

“It was a story that many national news organisations were chasing and – often wrongly – speculating about. Marcus is local to Bristol, his parents still live here, and he has never lost the link with his cricketing roots.

“This story serves as a reminder that everyone is essentially local first.”

Trescothick, who hails from Keynsham near Bristol, has been writing the column in the Post for three years. Read his column in full here.