Key England batsman flying home in a further blow for his side.
England’s Ashes campaign has been dealt another massive blow, with news number three batsman Jonathan Trott will return home citing stress.
The news will rock the camp as they continue to sift over the remains of their efforts in Brisbane for the first Test match, where Australia won by a massive 381 runs, the sixth biggest loss in Ashes history for the Three Lions.
Trott, who is normally a rock for the England top-order coming in at number three, looked out of sorts as he failed twice to the short-ball, a tactic employed by the Aussie pace attack on his way to scores of just nine and 10.
The home side continued to rub salt into wounds of Trott for his below-par performance, with David Warner calling out Trott as being the “weak link” in the English side.
England coach Andy Flower said Warner, or any other player’s comments, had nothing to do with him returning to England with the ‘stress-related illness’.
“Jonathan has been struggling with this for quite a while. We have been on tour for about a month and he has had his ups and downs,” Flower said.
“Trotty has been suffering from a stress-related condition for quite a while. He’s always managed it very successfully.”
Trott took to the offcial ECB Twitter account to apologise for his actions, saying it would not be fair on the rest of his teammates for him to continue in his current state.
“I don’t feel it’s right that I’m playing knowing that I’m not 100% & I cannot currently operate at the level I have done in the past”-Trott
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) November 25, 2013
“My priority now is to take a break from cricket so that I can focus on my recovery” – Trott
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) November 25, 2013
“I want to wish my team mates all the very best for the remainder of the tour.” – Trott
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) November 25, 2013
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