September 28, 2010

Trott's career could be cut short

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By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Jonathan Trott was off to a fabulous start to his international career when he chalked u a century on his Test debut against Australia at The Oval last summer. He has done himself no harm by scoring consistently this season as well.

Having accumulated 1155 runs at an average of 55 in 13 Tests, he stands every chance of becoming a permanent member of the England batting line-up for quite sometime even though he is not very far away from his 30th birthday. He has the elusive technique of grafting an innings, possessing the skills to come good in tough situation by making adjustments of his own.

Yet his career could be cut short if he continues to be involved in ugly off the field incidents witnessed during the recently concluded series against Pakistan.

Reportedly he faces an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) investigation for allegedly hurling harsh words at a spectator during the third Test against Pakistan at The Oval. The ugly spat with a male spectator had taken place when Trott was fielding on the boundary on day four of the Test.

According to a source, Trott had reacted angrily and sharply after being mocked for his slow scoring rate the previous day.

“A well-to-do bloke in the crowd shouted out sarcastically, ‘Trott, well batted yesterday. Kept me entertained all day’!” News of The World quoted Trott, as saying. Two balls later, Trott, who hit 36 from 130 balls in a losing cause, stared at the fan before fuming at him.

Trott was already in the news for the wrong reasons after it was reported that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was considering legal action against him for allegedly calling left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz “a match-fixer”.

Trott and Wahab were involved in an angry bust-up ahead of the fourth One-day International at Lord's with Trott having allegedly asked Wahab 'how much are you going to make from the bookies today?' Riaz was then reported to have returned the compliment by making a comment about a member of Trott's family before the pair threw batting pads at each other.

The altercation ended with Trott grabbing Riaz by the throat and the prospect of an all-out fight was only averted by England batting coach Graham Gooch, who pushed Trott away before putting an arm around the Pakistani fast bowler.

Shahid Afridi, Pakistan's one-day captain, later said that his team had considered filing a police complaint against Trott after his altercation with Wahab in the nets before fourth ODI.

“When Wahab was returning after warming up Trott called him a 'match-fixer' and that he was up to harming Test cricket and hit his face with the pad. t could have been a police case because it is a crime to hit someone. But we showed a big heart and did not press for it,” the Pakistan captain was quoted as saying.

He also confirmed that Pakistan had considered a making a protest in the wake of the confrontation. "There was talk of not going in for the toss because of the incident. But better sense prevailed because we wanted to play the match and we want this series to end properly,” he added.

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