Marcus Trescothick sparked an exciting era in English cricket by putting a vaunted Australia to the sword in such thrilling fashion in the 2005 Ashes series.
Forget Andrew Flintoff's stunning all-round performance with bat and ball or Kevin Pietersen's exhilarating, but chancy, hundred in the final Test at The Oval; it was Trescothick who set the tone for that series win with some rollicking displays of batting at the top of the order.
Clinical depression cruelly cut his international career short two years later but he still continues to play a peripheral role in the development and fortunes of the national team.
The left-hander could have chosen to remind the English public of just what they are missing by lining up in the Somerset side to play India over the past few days. Instead, he rested himself, allowing Andrew Strauss, the England captain on loan from Middlesex, to gain some much-needed practice in Trescothick's usual spot as an opening batsman.
He could still have opted to partner Strauss at the start of the innings and remind England fans of the halcyon days of 2005. But, no. He stepped aside to give Arul Suppiah his head.
His selfless act provided the platform for Strauss to score almost 200 runs in the match while Suppiah responded with a big hundred in the first innings.
India will certainly be glad Trescothick opted to put his feet up as they have enough issues as it is without the prospect of being on the receiving end of a masterclass from the free-scoring left-hander who averages nearly 76 this year.
