It became a relief to be away from cricket: Jonathan Trott

Jonathan Trott

London: England batsman Jonathan Trott insisted on Saturday that Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson was not responsible for his early exit from England's Ashes tour as he criticised Michael Vaughan's reaction to his health problems.


Jonathan Trott

When Trott quit what turned out to be a 5-0 Ashes thrashing by Australia after twice falling cheaply to fast bowler Mitchell Johnson in the first Test in Brisbane, England officials said he was suffering from a "stress-related illness". However, South Africa-born batsman Trott later told Sky television he'd been "burnt out" but was not depressed.

That prompted Vaughan, England captain from 2003-2008, to write in his Daily Telegraph column in March that he felt "conned" because he thought Trott's comments in the interview were a sign he'd been struggling for cricketing reasons, not mental health ones.

However, in an interview with Saturday's Daily Mail, Trott said: "A lot of people said it was Mitchell Johnson but it really wasn't. It was what was going on with me; self-inflicted really.

Reflecting on his state of mind when he first took time out, Trott said: "I wasn't sure if I wanted to play cricket any more. It became a relief to be away from it."

But Trott said a "last throw of the dice" visit to renowned sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters restored his self-belief. "I'd found someone who understood me. Someone I could speak to. I called Abi (Trott's wife) and I just said 'I'll be fine now,'Trott said.