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Warwickshire’s Jonathan Trott named in England Lions squad Jonathan Trott hopes England Lions call-up will lead to Test return
(about 5 hours later)
Jonathan Trott will be surrounded by Yorkshiremen when he takes a significant step towards a possible international recall as a member of the England Lions touring squad to face South Africa A early next year. Jonathan Trott has welcomed his selection for the England Lions trip to his native South Africa in the new year as evidence that his abrupt departure from last winter’s Ashes tour did not necessarily mark the end of his Test career.
Trott has been selected for the first-class section of the trip, which includes two four-day matches against South Africa A, confirming that the England selectors did not regard his abrupt departure from last winter’s Ashes tour as the end of his international career. Trott has been named in a 14-man Lions squad for the first-class part of the tour, including two four-day matches against South Africa A which also features the Middlesex opener Sam Robson and seven members of Yorkshire’s County Championship winning squad.
His omission from a separate squad for a five-match one-day series might be seen as something of a surprise, after his impressive form for Warwickshire in the Royal London Cup last summer. In contrast, all seven Yorkshire players who have been selected for the first part of the tour, a reflection of their dominance of the County Championship last summer, will stay on for the one-day matches – including Gary Ballance, who was a surprise omission from England’s World Cup squad. “It’s nice to get the recognition,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “At the age of 33, they could easily have said well, you know, you’re done and thanks for what you did, and we’re going to go in a different direction. So to get the nod … gives you hope.”
Ballance is joined by Adam Lyth and Alex Lees, the left-handed opening pair who will be hoping to outperform Sam Robson on the tour and thereby secure a position alongside Alastair Cook in the senior team for the three-Test tour of West Indies next spring. He refused to set a target of regaining his Test place for the return Ashes series in England next summer, but confirmed: “I still have aspirations to play for England. I’ve got to earn my place back. I’m not looking too far ahead – setting goals to make teams is very dangerous. At the moment I’m just looking forward to going to South Africa. I need to score runs.”
Jonny Bairstow looks likely to be the wicketkeeper, although Kent’s exciting talent Sam Billings has also been included for both sections of the tour, and the experienced pace bowlers Liam Plunkett and Jack Brooks are joined by Adil Rashid, the leg-spinner who is still only 26 and made the last of his 10 limited-overs appearances for England more than five years ago. He described the stress-related illness which flared up again early in the domestic season, forcing him to abort an initial comeback, as “situational anxiety”, and praised the role in his recovery of Steve Peters, the psychiatrist well-known for his work with Ronnie O’Sullivan, Liverpool FC and British Cycling, among others.
Boyd Rankin, James Vince, Kent’s off-spinner Adam Riley and the Somerset seamer Craig Overton make up the rest of the 14-man squad for the first-class games. Samit Patel returns to the fold in the one-day squad with Jason Roy and Stephen Parry also included, with Robson and Riley dropping out alongside Trott. “He put me back on the right track,” Trott said. “I seem to have found myself in a situation where I’m enjoying it again.”
The Lions will be coached by Sussex’s Mark Robinson for the second consecutive winter, with no official role stipulated for the former England coach Andy Flower, although he is expected to be involved in some form in his new role as technical director of elite performance. He is one of six players with Test experience in the squad, and the jostling for position among the top-order batsmen will be especially intriguing. The Yorkshire seven include Adam Lyth and Alex Lees, the left-handers who formed such a prolific opening partnership in the summer and are seen as genuine rivals to Robson to go in first with Alastair Cook in England’s next Test series, in the West Indies in the spring.
James Whitaker, the national selector, said: “We believe that the 17 players provisionally included across the two Lions squads for the tour to South Africa in the new year incorporates an excellent mix of international experience alongside fresh young talent. Robson and Trott will drop out of the squad for the five 50-over matches against South Africa A that follow the four-day matches with Samit Patel among the three coming in. But the seven Yorkshire players – including Gary Ballance, as well as Lyth and Lees – will all stay on.
Many thought Ballance was unlucky not to make the senior squad for next month’s one-day series in Sri Lanka, suggesting he is not in the plans for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand that follows early next year, although the national selector James Whitaker stressed that these Lions squads are provisional and will not be confirmed until England are required to name a 15-man party for the World Cup squad in December.
“We believe that the 17 players provisionally included across the two Lions squads for the tour to South Africa in the new year incorporates an excellent mix of international experience alongside fresh young talent,” said Whitaker.
“For the likes of Sam Billings, Craig Overton and Adam Riley to be playing alongside Sam Robson, Gary Ballance and Jonny Bairstow in a Lions tour is an exciting prospect for the future of English cricket, and I am certain that all of the players will learn a great deal from the experience.“For the likes of Sam Billings, Craig Overton and Adam Riley to be playing alongside Sam Robson, Gary Ballance and Jonny Bairstow in a Lions tour is an exciting prospect for the future of English cricket, and I am certain that all of the players will learn a great deal from the experience.
“Jonathan Trott’s exceptional form and run scoring exploits for Warwickshire at the end of the summer has resulted in his selection for the first class fixtures at the beginning of the tour.” “Jonathan Trott’s exceptional form and run-scoring exploits for Warwickshire at the end of the summer has resulted in his selection for the first-class fixtures at the beginning of the tour.”
The squads may yet be altered when England finalise their World Cup squad in December. The Lions will be coached by Sussex’s Mark Robinson for the second consecutive winter, with no official role stipulated for the former England coach Andy Flower, although he is expected to be involved in some form in his role as technical director of elite performance.
England Lions squad: Jonny Bairstow, (capt, Yorkshire), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Sam Billings (Kent), Jack Brooks (Yorkshire), Alex Lees (Yorkshire), Adam Lyth (Yorkshire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire), Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Adam Riley (Kent), Sam Robson (Middlesex), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), James Vince (Hampshire). Flower worked with the Lions in England in the summer and will also travel to Sri Lanka next month when most of the batsmen and spinners will form a performance programme, with the fast bowlers – including Liam Plunkett and Boyd Rankin – returning to Potchefstroom in South Africa.
Jason Roy (Surrey), Stephen Parry (Lancashire) and Samit Patel (Notts) will replace Trott, Robson and Riley in the 50-over squad to face South Africa A