Cook backing Trott to emerge as a top order stalwart in decisive Test
Captain insists new partner can adapt
ALASTAIR Cook has backed Jonathan Trott to show his pedigree in the decisive third Test against West Indies.
Trott has endured a tricky time in the Caribbean, averaging just 15.75 runs in four innings alongside Cook at the top of the order – but he will get another chance in Barbados, starting today.
Question marks over Trott’s position are exacerbated by the fact the 34-year-old has just been recalled after an 18-month absence brought about by “situational anxiety”.
That condition ended his 2013/14 Ashes after just one match and might also have brought his international career to a premature close.
But England were keen not to discard a player who had been a reliable anchor for them at number three in the order for several years, and seized on the vacancy at the head of the innings to bring him back into the fold.
Cook, who has seen the likes of Joe Root, Nick Compton, Michael Carberry and Sam Robson come and go at the head of the innings, is understood to have been a major advocate of Trott’s comeback and expects him to repay that faith when England look to preserve their 1-0 lead at the Kensington Oval.
There have been two ducks and a score of four so far, as well as some dubious footwork issues – but Cook saw positive signs in a gritty 59 in last week’s ninewicket win in Grenada.
“Trotty’s been working hard and he is a fine, fine cricketer who is adjusting to a different role,” said Cook.
“Hopefully he can do what he has done a huge amount of times in his career and produce an innings that we know he can play.
“I thought we saw a big glimpse of that in the first innings of the second Test.
“I thought he looked a lot more like the Jonathan Trott who had played 49 games before this tour.
“When you don’t score runs there are always other people waiting to take your place, that is no different for Trotty, but he’s got to relax, go out and play and be the best player he can be.
“The first 15 or 20 balls of an innings, the adrenaline is going, you’re desperate to do well and your movements are more England (probable): A Cook (capt), J Trott, G Ballance, I Bell (vice-capt), J Root, B Stokes, M Ali, J Buttler (wkt), C Jordan, S Broad, J Anderson. exaggerated. I know at number three you can be in second ball but there is a mental switch there.”
The West Indies, meanwhile, are contemplating unleashing an all-pace attack on England in Barbados.
The famous West Indian sides of yesteryear were renowned for pummeling tourists into submission with a fierce battery of quicks but times have changed in recent years.
After a conveyor belt of talent which provided the likes of Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner, the Windies no longer have the best fast bowlers in the world and the slow nature of pitches has encouraged the use of spin in the Caribbean.
But a slight fitness concern over their leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, coupled with allclears for Jerome Taylor (shoulder) and Jason Holder (ankle), means they could join Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach in a pace quartet.
The pitch at the Kensington Oval is likely to be harder and bouncier than those at Antigua or Grenada, but leaving parttimer Marlon Samuels as the only spin option would still constitute a gamble. Slow leftarmer Veerasammy Permaul has been summoned as cover, but captain Denesh Ramdin is pondering taking that risk at 1-0 down in the series.
“We will see how it goes in the morning, you never know, we could go all four seamers,” he said.
“Holder had some bowling on Wednesday and a full net today, so he is fit and ready to go. Taylor is fit, he is ready but Bishoo is nursing a light injury. In the last game he bowled 50odd overs and he feels a bit sore. Coming into the second innings the skin [on his finger] just peeled off a bit. We will assess it in the morning and he is covered by Permaul.
“It’s going to be a good pitch, a bit more bounce than the last pitches. When we play in Barbados, there’s always a bit of bounce and I think we need to come hard at the English.
“We are one down, so we need to play a little more aggressive and positive cricket.”
Ramdin believes that his side are ready to compete despite the disappointment of their last-day defeat in Grenada.
Having fought their way into a position where a second consecutive draw seemed the likeliest outcome, the Windies colluded with an inspired James Anderson to lose six crucial wickets on the fifth morning.
“The last Test match we played four brilliant days of cricket. We fought right through and it was just one hour where we lost the Test,” he said.
“We have to accept that we played some bad cricket on that fifth day, but we have gone past that.
“The confidence is good still. We’ve put that behind us, we know where we went wrong and, hopefully, we can overcome that.
“We would like to be more aggressive in all aspects of our game, don’t let them settle or anything like that,” added Ramdin.
“Be aggressive to their batters, be aggressive when we go there and shove the ball all over the park.”