And while this year’s test series win in India was “an incredible feather in his cap”, Straussy believes that “the Ashes will test him again, because there’s so much more interest and attention than normal - and he’ll have to deal with that.” Fortunately, Cook has cultivated a calvalcade of class to support him, and will be looking to one man - known among his team mates as ‘Booger’ - to deliver if England are to stride forth to a hat-trick.
Hot to Trott
That man is fellow MetLife ambassador Jonathan Trott, whose surprise appearance in the England side was the catalyst for victory at the Oval in 2009. Since he came to South East London wielding his bat like a Norse god, scoring 160 runs across two wondrous innings, he’s set a course to cement his reputation as Mr Consistency.
Fan of a bit of qualitative research? Try this on for size. Trott has amassed 3,451 runs from 43 test matches, and is one of only two players to have a batting average above 50 in both test and one-day international cricket. He’s scored an incredible 605 runs from just six Ashes tests - giving him an imperious 86.42 batting average against the Aussies. And he’s done this all without ever scoring a six in test cricket. Howzat?
His style of play can be infuriating to watch - slow, patient and austere - but Andrew Strauss says “you know what you’re getting with Jonathan Trott. He’s incredibly consistent over all forms of the game and he’s going to have a really important job to do at number three this summer.”
Chaos and crisis Down Under
Lets turn up the schadenfreude to maximum velocity. Where England have proved to be a tour de force of dominance, Australian cricket has been synonymous with disunity and failure in recent years. And with two successive Ashes battles on the losing end of the wicket, the Baggy Greens’ preparation for arguably the biggest tournament in professional test cricket has been more chaotic than a driving lesson from Lindsay Lohan.
Suffering the ignominy of floundering out of the Champions Trophy without a win in June, and a 4-0 defeat to India in February this year, Cricket Australia took the shocking decision to ditch coach Mickey Arthur two weeks prior to the series and replace him with Darren Lehmann.
Lehmann, affectionately known as ‘Bouff’’ on account of his resemblance to cult actress Emily ‘Bouff’ Booth (star of such classics as Witchcraft X: Mistress of the Craft), is well respected among fans and players, and will introduce a completely different style to his predecessor. Where Arthur was a man of process and discipline, Lehmann is well known for a focus on bringing things back to basics.
