Jonathan Trott urges England’s batsmen to step up on final day of second Test against Pakistan

Jonathan Trott has urged England’s batsmen to make use of whatever time they get on Monday as the second Tests draws to a dull, uneventful conclusion.

Only 10.2 overs were possible on day four, making that 96.2 overs in the match going into day five, of which England have only batted for five of them. Pakistan were bowled out for 236 in their first innings and with only 98 overs remaining in the match, only personal goals and a broader sense of belonging at this level and in this team are up for grabs ahead of Friday at the Ageas Bowl for the third and final Test of the series, which England will go into leading 1-0.

Thus Trott, the home batting coach who knows a thing about making good from tough situations having scored the majority of his 3,835 Test runs and nine Test hundreds at number three, is imploring those who get the opportunity to come to the middle on Monday to make best use of it. At first, that will be Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley with England 7 for one after five overs of batting on Sunday.

“Taking that confidence into next game is crucial for them,” answered Trott when asked about useful a score of note could be in a match which has been heading for a draw since day two. “They will be sitting back at the hotel now, really ambitious and determined to do well tomorrow.

“It is about going out there and combatting the conditions we find out there and both are capable of doing that. We’ve seen them both bat time in the first-class game and Dom Sibley in Test match cricket so we’d like to see some more of that.”

Though a draw will mean England cannot lose the series, they need a win outright to retain the #RaiseTheBat Trophy given it is in Pakistan’s possession. And if they are to correct that with a first series victory since 2010, Trott believes they need to show focus for that final Test on the final day of this one.

“It is important we don’t just see it as a day to bat out and walk away with the draw and be one-nil up. There is still work to be done against new ball to make sure we are in a good place for the third Test. Let’s just make sure we get the job done. We’ve seen strange things happen in cricket and we know the conditions will be pretty tough if the weather is similar so lots of hard work.”

One player who will not have the chance to go on is Rory Burns, who fell to the fourth delivery of England’s first innings for a duck. It was one he could do little about – Shaheen Afridi producing a delivery that swung and seamed, squaring up the left-hander and carrying his edge to second slip. It leaves him with a batting average in this series of 4.66, from three innings, though it is off the back of a West Indies series in which he averaged 44 and 234 runs. Trott had sympathy for the opener’s current dip, and the manner of his dismissal: “It was unfortunate but it was always going to be a tough little period with the weather coming and unfortunately he edged that one. He is working hard, he just needs time in the middle for it to click for him.”

Going forward, too, there remains much for this batting side to pick-up. Though they are relatively settled, albeit not quite at the moment due to the absence of Ben Stokes, there is still a lack of experience. Of the 146 caps between the top five, 96 belong solely to Joe Root.

Though that number will not change too much before the Ashes at the end of 2021, Trott, who was part of a dominant England side that won in Australia in 2010/11, the first time they had done so since 1986, thinks it will be more about the opportunities to learn and grow in that time that will stand these new batsmen in good stead. That and growing as people.

“It is a different stage,” he said regarding where this side are at now compared to that team of 2010/11 at the same point in time before that Ashes. “Guys then were in their late twenties. We had openers who had played over 100 Tests, four and five played over 100 Tests.

“At the moment we only have two bowlers with over 100 Tests. So the batting side is different but these are exciting players but at a different stage of their careers and that can only be good for English cricket.”