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I am talking purely in terms of his mental health, its not a groin strain hes recovering from.

SaintPowelly wrote:I am talking purely in terms of his mental health, its not a groin strain hes recovering from.

I was about to say the same (broken thumb). This has a massive bearing, coupled with his age.

Dr Robert wrote:

SaintPowelly wrote:I am talking purely in terms of his mental health, its not a groin strain hes recovering from.

I was about to say the same (broken thumb). This has a massive bearing, coupled with his age.

Well that's not what was said, every thing centered on his age and not being part of the future. There are two futures, the short term and the long term. You have only eyes on the long term and are happy to sacrifice the short term in the uncertain hope that youth will guarantee long term success.

hopeforthebest wrote:

Dr Robert wrote:

SaintPowelly wrote:I am talking purely in terms of his mental health, its not a groin strain hes recovering from.

I was about to say the same (broken thumb). This has a massive bearing, coupled with his age.

Well that's not what was said, every thing centered on his age and not being part of the future. There are two futures, the short term and the long term. You have only eyes on the long term and are happy to sacrifice the short term in the uncertain hope that youth will guarantee long term success.

I thought it was obvious what was meant. Short term is still not till next year, unless you take him to Australia. That's a massive risk.

The timing really isn't right though is it ?

IfTrott had been successfully reintegrated into the England set up , and the coaching staff were satisfied he was unlikely to suffer a recurrence of his previous problems , then surely he'd be an ideal number three for the WC. But he's only just said he feels ready to come back...do they see if he survives seven games in Sri Lanka and assume all will be well ? Can't see it , myself. Just too soon.
When you come to next summer , I for one would not be in favour of disturbing Ballance at three in the Test side - and I don't think anyone is arguing they should. The ODI is a different case ; surely Trott would strengthen the side. But as he will be 37 at the next WC many would say picking him runs counter to the idea that England should be rebuilding their team for the future...

Personal view : if they think he is mentally ready , I'd probably pick him next year in ODI (assuming that England have a poor WC and Cook - and perhaps Bell - exit the format after the tournament , as seems to be the popular prediction on here ) as he'd be a useful steady player among the new lineup of young dashers who will presumably occupy the other batting spots. He may not last until the next WC ; but you can't spend four years just preparing - you need to try to win games too. Lot of cricket to be played before then , and others may look a better choice when we get there , but he might well be worth considering.

Always supposing he is in form as well as the right state of mind , of course. I wouldn't write him off : but I wouldn't hold my breath either.

hopeforthebest wrote:

Dr Robert wrote:

SaintPowelly wrote:I am talking purely in terms of his mental health, its not a groin strain hes recovering from.

I was about to say the same (broken thumb). This has a massive bearing, coupled with his age.

Well that's not what was said, every thing centered on his age and not being part of the future. There are two futures, the short term and the long term. You have only eyes on the long term and are happy to sacrifice the short term in the uncertain hope that youth will guarantee long term success.

Its not worth a major setback for Jonathan Trott for a short-term fix.

As things currently stand what's the bigger risk - taking Trott to the WC or Cook as captain?

It wouldn't be a bad idea to take Trott on the SL tour to see how he fairs.

The problem isn't what do England do if Trott goes home, it is what does Trott do ? How does he recover ?

I agree with powelly on this

its not like trott is all of a sudden gonna turn us into a WC winning team and the risk to his recovey aint worth it imo , stress-related illnesses can be triggered by environmental issues and the big step up in pressure and expectation playing international cricket is a very different environment from coping with playing for warks

SaintPowelly wrote:The problem isn't what do England do if Trott goes home, it is what does Trott do ? How does he recover ?

..

That's the risk anyone takes in life, whether the injury is physical or otherwise. If Trott is selected, which he seems to want to be, then he has a choice. That's not being unfair, just realistic. He's taken advice, been signed off by the ECB etc. so presumably is eligible. Trott will know the risks more than anybody.

The other side of the coin to Trott being selected and 'coming home' is that he might otherwise spend the rest of his days wondering if he could have played again successfully at international level.

Neither seems very appealing to me.

Trott gives a test match average (52) in ODI format which is excellent and one of the best ODI averages nowadays. His SR of 77 is definitely below par though, but it i think overall his average and SR combo is much better than what Cook and Bell offer. It is surprising to read that Cook is a certainty for WC even though he is totally out of form.

Arthur Crabtree wrote:England don't have a settled middle order, they have a failing middle order. If they can strengthen the team, then they should. Whether that means picking Trott is another issue. For a serially losing side, I don't think the status quo can be justified.

I think you're both right. England have a settled, failing middle order.

I'll make my other point again. Is Trott just responding to the uncertainty of not having a central contract to fall back on?

A fit and firing Trott would be my first name on the team sheet at present.

A few weeks ago he scored a century at Edgbaston in An RLC game, his first on his home ground since his problem began. On reaching his century his face screwed up with emotion in a way I've never seen from him before which to me suggested he was not fully over all that's happened. I think he needs more time and the suitable time to consider his return to England colours would be in the late May ODI games v NZ next year. By that time he will have played 4-5 CC games to prove his good form has continued.
Of course this presupposes that we fail to win the WC.

hopeforthebest wrote:A few weeks ago he scored a century at Edgbaston in An RLC game, his first on his home ground since his problem began. On reaching his century his face screwed up with emotion in a way I've never seen from him before which to me suggested he was not fully over all that's happened. I think he needs more time and the suitable time to consider his return to England colours would be in the late May ODI games v NZ next year. By that time he will have played 4-5 CC games to prove his good form has continued.
Of course this presupposes that we fail to win the WC.

By May he'll be 34. No point bringing him back for what are ultimately meaningless ODIs.