Marcus Trescothick said on Wednesday he desperately wants to play for England again but that it would depend on whether he could cope with touring.
The opening batsman, a mainstay of the England side since 2000, pulled out of tours to India and Australia last year because of a stress-related illness.
The 31-year-old was left out of England's World Cup squad but has been sorely missed, a fact underlined by his 256 for English county side Somerset in a pre-season friendly against Devon on Sunday.
"Of course I am desperate to play for England again but it wouldn't be fair to anyone if I attempted to do so without being doubly certain that I could complete an overseas tour, as well as take part in games over here," he told somersetcountycc.co.uk.
"I wouldn't have gone to Australia if I hadn't felt convinced in my own mind that I could handle an Ashes series there. Now I know that feeling was wrong."
Trescothick also tried to explain the nature of his illness.
"I started to worry about the smallest things, some to do with cricket, some not. Then I began to have trouble sleeping so I would wake up tired and that made it harder to cope," he said.
