BARRING divine intervention, or injury, Marcus Trescothick will become Somerset’s second all-time leading run scorer in first class cricket before the month of April is out.

Trescothick, who stepped down from the club captaincy in February, is just 14 runs behind Peter Wight’s first class tally of 16,965 heading into his 24th season and looks set to surpass the county great as early as next Sunday.

The 40-year-old had Wight’s total in his sights towards the end of last season, and says it will be a proud moment when he eventually takes the mantle.

“I was trying my hardest to get it last year, and since then Peter has sadly passed away, which was a big shame because I would have loved for him to still have been around when I passed it.

“I knew him from my time back in Bath as a youngster, using the indoor cricket centre he had at Bath Cricket Club.

“I hope I can get it as quick as I can, although it has taken a long time to get to his record as second highest all-time run scorer for the county.

“I am still a long way off the top run scorer, Harold Gimblett (21,142 runs) which is a good few seasons away, so whether I can reach that I don’t know.

“I don’t think you ever play for the records but when they come along it’s always nice to achieve them.”

At 40, Trescothick has been around the block and then some, but insists he is just as enthusiastic and excited as he ever was, and looking forward to a summer without the responsibility of captaincy.

Chris Rogers has taken the reins in County Championship cricket, while Jim Allenby will captain all white-ball cricket – and Trescothick believes the former Australia opener will add ‘an extra dimension’.

“He is a top class player and coming quite recently from international cricket, it’s great and he will add that extra dimension that maybe we have been missing,” he said.

“He is very tough competitor and I remember the last time he played here, he got a double hundred and saved the game for Middlesex when we were trying to bowl them out, so hopefully he can replicate that a few times for us this season and put the team in a good position.

“The time has just gone so quickly, especially when I think back to the first few games I played for Somerset and the great feeling it was to be involved for the first time and the players who were here then.

“Now it has gone full circle for me - you go through the best part of your career and then you get into the twilight zone, but I still love it and its great fun. However it doesn’t feel like 24 years and it’s amazing just how quickly the time goes.”

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PHOTO: Alexander Davidson

And what of the captaincy, how will it be having someone else call the shots?

No problem, insists Trescothick – a blessing, in some respects.

“I don’t quite know how that is going to be,” he said.

“It was fine in the first game and I didn’t take much notice of it. On the pitch you see what the captain does and how he directs what goes on, but it’s the time in the meetings, the time thinking about the team for next week, you don’t see, whereas now it’s great and I have got a lot more time on my hands.

“I can do more training and preparation and spend more time with the lads, which is what I have noticed already.

“The extra time I have got to do things is quite nice to have at this time in the season.”

Whether Trescothick eventually becomes Somerset’s all-time leading run-scorer remains to be seen – but regardless of how many more the left-hander scores and how much silverware he wins, his legacy as one of the greatest players ever to represent the county is already secure.