Dubai: Jonathan Trott was on Wednesday named in the England Test squad for the first time since having to withdraw from the 2013-14 Ashes series with a stress-related condition.
The South Africa-born batsman was recalled by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as part of a 16-man party for a three-Test tour of the West Indies starting next month.
All-rounder Ben Stokes was also included, along with the uncapped trio of Durham fast bowler Mark Wood, Yorkshire spinner Adil Rashid and Yorkshire opening batsman Adam Lyth.
Captain Alastair Cook returns as well, having been left out of the 50-over squad for the ongoing Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where England crashed out in the first round.
Trott stepped up his rehabilitation when he captained the second-string Lions tour of South Africa in January and February and Cook was delighted to see the doughty batsman return to the set-up.
“He had a really good tour of South Africa, as captain as well, so with a bit more pressure of leading and seeing how he coped,” the skipper told media in Dubai.
“We’ve had fantastic feedback from the guys and coaches there, and I’ve chatted a lot to Trotty, we’ve kept in contact since that fateful day in Brisbane [when Trott left the Ashes tour]. It’s fantastic he’s back playing for Warwickshire, he seems healthy and it’s been an amazing effort from him.
“From where he was at Brisbane to where he is now, I think it’s a credit. Obviously the ECB has a system to help him get back and also he’s a fine, fine cricketer, with his nine [Test] hundreds and all the runs he’s scored for us. To have his name back in the selection mix is fantastic.”
The Test matches in Antigua, Grenada and Barbados will be England’s first since they beat India 3-1 on home soil last summer, but the team’s World Cup failure mean they will start the West Indies tour under a cloud.
But Cook was confident the players involved Down Under will be refreshed by the change to Test cricket.
“I don’t think they [England’s World Cup performances] will [affect the West Indies tour]. We got in a position at the end of last summer, where we beat India, winning three back-to-back Test matches, to get a bit of a feel-good factor,” he said.
“But obviously what has happened over this winter in terms of one-day cricket, the fans will be feeling disappointed and there’s a bit of doom and gloom about English cricket. We’ve got the responsibility now as a Test side to try and start turning it around again.
“It is a different format and you do get a change, but English cricket is grouped under the same umbrella and we can’t be naive enough to think that it’s not. We’ve got a repairing job to do and the only way to do that is to start playing some good cricket and winning again.
“I think they [the World Cup players] will probably be sick of the coloured clothing and the stuff that goes with that. A change of format always gives everyone a bit of a fresh impetus. The lads will be desperately keen to get out and start playing better cricket again.”
— With inputs from AFP
