England Is The Home Of Cricket But India Is The Ultimate Everest: Jonathon Trott

Jonathan Trott, the former England batsman, has called India the heartbeat of world cricket. He also said that winning a Test series in India was a ‘phenomenal effort’.

Jonathan Trott was a part of one of England’s best-ever Test teams. The right-handed batsman was an integral part of the England team that famously won the Ashes in Australia in 2010-11. During his time in international cricket, England won in Bangladesh while drawing series in Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies.

But it was the remarkable series victory in India which Trott termed as special. He played a key role, smashing 143 in Nagpur. England had lost the first Test but won the following two games to win the series 2-1.

“Winning in India was special, especially against the team that we played – [Virender] Sehwag, [Sachin] Tendulkar, [MS] Dhoni, Harbhajan [Singh],” Trott said. “I always think India is the heartbeat of world cricket. England is the home but India is the ultimate Everest. To win there was a phenomenal effort,” Trott told Wisden Cricket Monthly.

Trott, on Wednesday, walked out for his last first-class appearance for Warwickshire after having announced his retirement in May.  And in his final season, he helped Warwickshire win the County Championship Division Two title with a win Kent by an innings and 134 runs.

Meanwhile, he further recalled the the 3-1 Ashes victory Down Under.

“Going to Australia and winning – if that’s not fun then there’s no fun in cricket. Everyone had had quite a lot of champagne and there was music on. People were coming in and out. Families were around,” Trott recalled.

Trott began his England career with a bang, scoring a century in the final Test of the 2009 Ashes series. Soon, he cemented his place at number three, churning out runs consistently.

Overall, he represented England in 52 Tests, scoring 3835 runs with the help of 9 centuries and 19 fifties. He also played 68 ODIs for England and averaged a brilliant 51.25 in that format. However, he often faced criticism for playing with a good pace. He scored close to 3,000 ODI runs with the help of 4 centuries and 22 fifties.

Trott’s short yet very impressive international career came to an inauspicious end. During the 2013-14 Ashes in Australia, he returned home after the first Test in Brisbane because of a stress-related illness.  He managed to return to the team on the 2015 tour to West Indies as an opener but struggled with his form. He went on to announce his retirement from international cricket at the end of that tour.

And Trott is now looking to help youngsters who suffer from stress related illnesses.

“I have a feeling that what I went through is going to help me as a coach and will make me more aware of things. I will never forget how difficult the game is; I will always have empathy for cricketers and it’s why I struggle to criticise players without giving a positive option. That makes me think I want to make a difference as a coach,” he said.