Trott aims for new lease of life

Warwickshire batsman Jonathan Trott is trying to bounce back from a season which saw his county relegated in the LV County Championship and himself selected and then jettisoned by England.

The 26-year-old’s own form dipped in the second half of the season and he is determined to use his time with the England Performance Programme to work on his entire game.

“I’d like to work on a few things that I think I need to improve on with my batting,” he told ecb.co.uk. “Both mentally and technically.

“I want to sort my bowling out a bit more and I want to get fitter. Give everything a tweak, I suppose.”

Trott scored 396 runs at an average of 19.8 in the 2007 championship campaign - a far cry from the 1,073 at 41.26 which he achieved the previous year, but he admits he is at a loss to explain why he suffered.

“I think it was a bit of everything,” he said. “I can’t really pinpoint it - hopefully that is what I will do here and find out and be able to work on it.

“My one-day form was ok though and Twenty20 was all right.”

It was Trott’s contributions in the 50-over format of the Friends Provident Trophy which led to his first international call-up to the NatWest Series squad against West Indies in June.

“I wasn’t expecting the call-up,” he admitted. “Then I was whisked into the limelight and then whisked out of it pretty quickly.

“I played two Twenty20 games and didn’t do very well and then I got a bust hand.

“It was a surreal brief encounter so maybe if I get another chance I will know what to expect a bit better.”

Trott is obviously still in the selectors’ thoughts after being named in the 2007-08 intake of what was previously the National Academy.

“I didn’t have the greatest of seasons compared to others I’ve had before, so I was a bit surprised,” he confirmed.

“It is quite intense, but it is short and sharp. It is quite a long day - we start at quarter past eight - so it gets quite tiring.

“The nice thing about it is that you work at what you think you need to do. It is not like a big group thing.

“Before we started we were screened for old injuries to see what needs making stronger. We have had quite a lot of fitness drills recently and a few skills sessions."

As one of the most experienced members of the programme, Trott has been able to pass on some of his own pearls of wisdom.

“I’ve said a few things to the guys about how they are doing and what could be better. But I am equally open to comments from them. We are all helping each other," he said.

Trott has been very impressed with the facilities that are on offer to him at the National Performance Centre, which is based at Loughborough University.

“The whole university is great,” he agreed. “It’s not just in here, you’ve also got the swimming pool and the athletics track. It gives you a good sporty vibe. It is really nice to be in that active sort of lifestyle.

“The nets here are really good and to be able to do so much bowling is nice. I’ve been able to bowl here every day, which is not something I am used to.”

Both Kevin Shine and David Parsons have regularly been on hand to offer their coaching tips to batsmen and bowlers alike, with several other coaches being brought in to offer their expertise throughout the programme, both at Loughborough and in India.

“It is my first time at the academy and the coaching is really good. In fact, sometimes, there might be too many of them - they are falling over each other to try to help us,” Trott joked.

“It’s nice in that you can come and do what you want to do. I can lose focus on something if I’m not interested and that wastes everyone’s time.

“But if I think I can benefit, then I am really enthusiastic. I think everyone is the same.”