Trott a doubt for Twenty20

Jun 27 2007

ENGLAND newcomer Jonathan Trott is an injury doubt for Thursday’s Twenty20 international against the West Indies after being struck on the left hand during a net session.

Trott was last night undergoing X-rays to determine the extent of the damage, with the results expected to be known this morning.

England also confirmed that Ian Bell suffered a minor tear to his left groin during Monday’s fielding practice.

Bell will continue to be assessed – but if Trott has suffered a fracture to the hand he faces the prospect of missing the entire one-day series.

England play the West Indies in back-to-back Twenty20 games and three one-day internationals over the next 10 days.

Trott, who played for the South Africa Under-19s, was included in England’s 14-man one-day squad after qualifying on residency grounds last year.

He was struck on the hand by Liam Plunkett as he took part in his first net session, but England are playing down the injury.

An official ECB statement yesterday evening insisted Trott had been sent for “precautionary” X-rays. But it will be a blow to England's plans to lose both Trott, an aggressive top-order batsman, and the experienced Bell.

This season, Trott’s one-day form for Warwickshire has been red hot. He averages 88 in the 50-over Friends Provident Trophy and 44 in the Twenty20 Cup, with a strike rate of 114.

It will also be frustrating for Trott, who turned his back on the South African system to pursue his ambitions of playing international cricket in England.

Trott represented South Africa at junior World Cups but signed for Warwickshire in 2002, when the Bears were coached by family friend Bob Woolmer.

“I had always wanted to come across and play in England,” explained Trott, whose father and grandparents were born in London before moving to Cape Town.

“It started crossing my mind in my late teens. I always had an association with England growing up and decided I would like to play for England one day.

“It was a big decision in my life but it was purely a cricketing decision. I looked at the county system and thought it was the best in the world. I thought I had a better chance of becoming an international player with the better structure of first-class cricket.

“The quota system in South Africa was something I thought about and I made my decision with a lot of guidance.

“I thought I could go further with South Africa but I wanted to be the best player I could be and I thought playing county cricket would give me a better chance of doing that. That decision has got me this far and hopefully I can go further.”

But Trott now faces an anxious wait to discover whether he will have to put those ambitions temporarily on ice.