If you thought that burnout was something that only happened to teenage tennis players, think again. Marcus Trescothick, who today emerged from a dismal run of form with a dashing 68 against Otago at Queenstown, admitted afterwards that the international treadmill had started to affect his game. "I've found recently that I'm not mentally switched on when I go out and bat," he said. "I've found it really tough to concentrate. I've been working twice as hard in the nets, almost twice as hard as I normally do. But it's been the mental side that's been the problem." Trescothick, who played in all but two of England's matches in India and kept wicket in four of the five one-day games against New Zealand, said he needed a break. "I've played every game, so I'm due for a rest."

But he claimed he would have missed the three-day game against Canterbury starting on Thursday even if he hadn't scored any runs today. "Sometimes the best thing to do is have a complete rest from it. I've not been too worried about my form, but it's nice to get into a bit of rhythm. It was good today – the concentration was back, and my shot selection was good."

Trescothick, who led England in the absence of Nasser Hussain, wasn't convinced that two warm-up games before the first Test would be enough for the six players who joined the squad for the second leg of the tour. "For the guys who have been out here all the time, two games will be enough. For the others, I just don't know. It will be tough. But that's the way we do it these days."

And he wasn't happy with the way the batsmen performed in the second innings either. "It was looking a bit worrying for a while. We should have batted a lot better than we did."

He was pleased with Andy Caddick, though, who added three wickets to the four he picked up in the first innings, and was finally finding that elusive rhythm. "It was a good workout for him," said Trescothick. "He's still got a little bit to do yet. His rhythms were starting to come back the more he bowled. Sometimes he's at his best when he's quite tired. If you almost run him into the ground you tend to get a bit more rhythm."

But Trescothick wouldn't be drawn on who would be keeping wicket against Canterbury. Warren Hegg was almost immaculate behind the stumps against a ball that often swung viciously down the leg side, and top-scored in the first innings with 32. He also took a catch today off Caddick that it was hard to imagine James Foster pulling off: a spring-in-the-boots leap high to his right in front of first slip to dismiss Rob Lawson. But Trescothick wasn't getting involved. "I'll leave that to the selectors." It could be a tricky decision.

Lawrence Booth is assistant editor of Wisden.com. You can read his reports here throughout the tour.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd