Marcus Trescothick has claimed that Murray Mints "worked a treat" in his role as England's chief ball polisher.

Coughing up to his role as Test match 'candyman', the one-time England opener has revealed his favoured method of getting the "best type of spit" to ensure maximum shine on the ball for as long as possible to aid swing.

Trescothick was long rumoured as the man England nominated to look after the ball to their best advantage - a fact which came to occasional prominence both in the home Ashes series of 2001 and 2005.

It was in the second of those that England inflicted a surprise defeat on their visitors, with reverse swing a key element of their unexpected series win.

Trescothick, whose international career has since foundered because of his stress-related problems, reveals his best ball-polishing tips in his autobiography - which is being serialised in Sunday's News of the World.

"I had a go at Murray Mints and found they worked a treat," the 32-year-old recalls.

Cricket laws forbid the use of "any artificial substance" - specifically to be applied to the surface of the ball.

But it is thought commonplace that players the world over have investigated the effects of sucking boiled sweets when it comes to keeping the shine on.

"I was firmly established as the man in charge of looking after the ball when we were fielding," Somerset left-hander Trescothick said of his England days.

"It was my job to keep the shine on the new ball for as long as possible with a bit of spit and a lot of polish - and through trial and error I finally settled on the best type of spit for the task at hand."

An International Cricket Council spokesman has confirmed the world governing body remain vigilant about any possible breach of the laws but need to be mindful of trying to police behaviour which may well be entirely innocent.

Following the revelations from Trescothick - who was absolved of any wrong-doing by the match referee when a clutch of lollipops fell out of his pocket during an Ashes Test in 2001 - the ICC spokesman said: "It is something that potentially would be in breach of our code of conduct.

"If appropriate, it would be looked into. It depends on the evidence and circumstances.

"If something is brought to our attention it would be dealt with. But where do you stop, for example, if you start to try to stop everyone who is chewing gum?"

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