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Jonathan Trott suffers another bout of stress; takes break from game

Trott played for Warwickshire against Sussex before withdrawing from the County Championships, .

Jonathan Trott withdrew from Ashes 2013-14 after the first Test match © Getty Images
Jonathan Trott withdrew from Ashes 2013-14 after the first Test match © Getty Images

 

London: Apr 17, 2014

 

England batsman Jonathan Trott is set to take another break from cricket due to the same stress issues that forced him to quit the recent Ashes series.

 

Trott decided to pull out of England’s tour to Australia after the first Test in Brisbane with what the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) described as a “stress-related illness”.

 

The 32-year-old spent four months away from the game working with a psychologist and the ECB’s medical team in a bid to rebuild his career.

 

Trott later described his Ashes exit as a case of “burn-out” and said he hoped to return to England duty this season.

 

But according to the Daily Mail’s report, he has had to step away from the firing line again after just one Championship match for his England county Warwickshire in which he scored 37 and 26 against Sussex.

 

According to the Mail, it was “a far from easy decision to take for the emotional Trott, but his anxiety levels have been so high that he felt he had no choice for his own wellbeing”.

 

The report says an announcement to confirm Trott’s decision is expected in the next 24 hours, although the player himself was unavailable for comment.

 

The news will inevitably lead to speculation that Trott’s England career is over, but he reportedly hopes more specialist treatment will enable him to return.

 

Speaking weeks before news of Trott’s relapse, former England captain Michael Vaughan had criticised the batsman for playing down the illness in a television interview.

 

“I feel a little bit conned we were told Jonathan Trott’s problems in Australia were a stress-related illness he had suffered for years,” Vaughan said.

 

“We were allowed to believe he was struggling with a serious mental health issue and treated him with sensitivity and sympathy.

 

“He was obviously not in a great place but he was struggling for cricketing reasons and not mental, and there is a massive difference.”

 

Trott has played in 49 Tests for England, scoring nine centuries and 18 half-centuries.

 

He has scored 3,763 Test runs at an average of 46.45, with a highest score of 226 against Bangladesh at Lord’s in 2010.

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