More criticism for Jonathan Trott in the light of his 69 off 105 balls against Ireland in the one-dayer at Clontarf, a strike rate of 66.
And yet... Strike rates aren't everything and Trott top-scored in the innings, eventually seventh man out as England made 201/8 in a rain-affected innings. And the fact it was rain-affected it probably says it all. Rain or shine, Trott has the ability to judge a pitch and play every single ball on it's merits - he averages over 50 in ODIs precisely for this reason - unlike his colleagues who keep getting out to pre-meditated shots that the situation simply doesn't warrant.
Anyone expecting Trott to go berserk and send fireworks shooting into the sky clearly hasn't seen the lad's approach. But he is someone around whom an innings can be built and when he does go to 80, 90, 100, the strike rate is pretty close to a run a ball. And, frankly, if half the other England batsmen had as much determination to keep their wicket intact, the side would be far higher up the rankings already.
The old adage says that you can't score runs whilst sat in the pavilion and it's only survived so long because it's true. 69 runs at 66 is a hell of a lot better than 14 from 26 balls (Kieswetter, the supposedly explosive one) or even 13 from 12 (Samit Patel), particularly on a tricky pitch in tricky conditions against a pretty decent attack.
The one thing about Trott is that Alistair Cook's approach in ODIs is just about the same. With Cook a guaranteed starter as captain, is there room for both? Possibly not, but there is value in a Trott if only because you know that whatever his approach to an innings is, it's probably the right one. Watch and learn.
