Chris Waters: Trott should fend off feelings of guilt and focus on getting better

“STRESS: A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances.” So proclaims the Oxford dictionary, which says that the word is often used in combination – i.e. “stress-related illnesses”.
England's Jonathan Trott reacts as he leaves the field after losing his wicket to the bowling of Australia's Mitchell JohnsonEngland's Jonathan Trott reacts as he leaves the field after losing his wicket to the bowling of Australia's Mitchell Johnson
England's Jonathan Trott reacts as he leaves the field after losing his wicket to the bowling of Australia's Mitchell Johnson

It was “a stress-related illness” that was given as the official reason why Jonathan Trott left England’s Ashes tour of Australia. Ever since admitting that he was suffering from “burnout” as opposed to “depression”, however, a perception that the England and Wales Cricket Board did nothing to alter, Trott has been clobbered from pillar to post – not least by former England captain Michael Vaughan, who said he felt “conned” by the amended explanation and effectively accused the player of running scared from hostile pace bowling and poor batting form. Now let’s see what the Oxford dictionary has to say about “burnout”.

“BURNOUT: Ruin one’s health or become completely exhausted through overwork.”

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Now call me daft, and plenty do, but doesn’t “burnout” therefore come under the same umbrella as “stress”, even if there is clearly still a difference? In this case, the “adverse or demanding circumstances” are exhaustion through overwork/pressure (whether self-inflicted or otherwise), which has led to “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension” – i.e. “stress”. There has been no “con” going on as far as I can see. Trott genuinely did leave the Ashes tour with “a stress-related illness”, and it is unfair to accuse him or the ECB of perpetrating some craven deception, even if the governing body did leave itself open to accusations of sidestepping problems with the overcrowded fixture list.

Foolishly, Trott declared in a television interview with the former England batsman Ian Ward that he was not “crazy” or a “nutcase”, which did little to enhance the mental health cause. But after a week of criticism and condemnation, anger and accusation, to say that Trott took his ball home and did a runner while his team-mates were left to fend for themselves is a myopic verdict by those not privy to the inner workings of his mind. It is the same sort of attitude people displayed when footballers such as Stan Collymore first announced that they were suffering from depression and folk mocked: “Stan Collymore? What has he got to be depressed about? I wouldn’t mind being a few quid behind Stan Collymore”, and so on.

My own reaction to Trott’s television appearance was one of concern rather than condemnation. He still does not look well and sounded like he was trying to convince himself that he is ready to return to England colours when he should really just be focusing on getting better. Trott earmarked May 9 and a one-day international against Scotland in Aberdeen as a potential date for his England comeback, but, like Vaughan, I suspect that he’d be much better off spending the summer playing for Warwickshire and forgetting about representing England for now – indeed, perhaps forever. Trott’s desire to return is understandable – not least because he admits that he still feels guilty about leaving the Ashes – but the ECB would do well to ponder whether it really is in his best interests, never mind the team’s.

I don’t know Jonathan Trott. I’ve never had the pleasure of interviewing him and can only speculate what he is like deep down, but some things did strike me while watching him talking to Ian Ward. First, he is very intense, something which everyone accepts – himself included – has contributed to or even caused his problems. Second, he seems a very nice chap, a good egg who enjoys a laugh and a joke. Third, he seems anxious not to be saddled with the stigma of “depression”, hence his unwise use of words such as “nutcase” and “crazy”. Fourth, he should not have done the interview in the first place, for it was horribly stage-managed, while the announcement that he had not received a fee for taking part was cringe-making.

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Most of all, though, I come back to the fact that Trott still looks ill. Indeed, we only have his word for it that he is not suffering from anything more serious than burnout.

Rather than ridicule Trott, however, we should wish him all the best. If he cannot cope with Test cricket at its most pressured and intense, which is what Vaughan is saying, so what? It is not a crime. The only “crime”, if there is one, is that his problems were not picked up earlier, but even then it is very difficult for a captain or coach in such circumstances. The reality is that people in all walks of life don’t cope at times. It is part of being human.

It doesn’t matter how much money you’ve got, how successful you are, how famous you might be, stress can strike anyone at any time. Let he who has not suffered cast the first stone.

and another thing...

WHILE Jonathan Trott’s England career remains in the balance, the same cannot be said of Kevin Pietersen’s.

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Amid delightfully inflammatory remarks from Australia’s Shane Watson that England should perform a U-turn over KP, who was sacked in February for breaking team ethics, ECB chairman Giles Clarke slammed the door firmly shut on that possibility.

Clarke called the sacking “a brave one” and urged England’s supporters to “move on”.

He said there is no “going back” and described the Ashes tour as “a watershed”.

The more I think about this subject – and I must confess I don’t think about it very often – the more I think we are unqualified to judge whether England have made the right call.

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It may be, as Clarke says, a brave decision; it may just as easily be a foolish one.

But without possession of the full facts, which only those in the Team England environment can possess, external speculation is worthless.