JONATHAN TROTT has convinced England’s selectors he is ready to return to the Test arena with his mature Lions captaincy, and runs, this winter.

It is 16 months since Trott had to leave the 2013-14 Ashes with a stress-related problem, and it was not until the second half of last summer that he began to demonstrate he was capable of producing his best form again.

The man once inked in at number three for England duly returned to the squad yesterday, although he is now likely to be competing for an opening slot alongside captain Alastair Cook in the West Indies next month.

Trott was included alongside three prospective debutants in the 16-man squad — Yorkshire pair Adam Lyth and Adil Rashid, plus Durham’s Mark Wood.

Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes was also named yesterday morning, returning to the fold as England seek to erase the embarrassment of their early World Cup exit and start an Ashes year of Test cricket by winning in the Windies.

However, it is the inclusion of Trott which dominated the agenda after his return to form with Warwickshire and the Lions.
“Really well done for all the efforts he’s put in for the last 12 months,” national selector James Whitaker said.

“He seems to be enjoying his cricket again, which is the main thing we wanted to see, and he’s very relaxed.

“He is a player of proven international pedigree, and we are delighted to welcome him back into the squad.”

Whitaker added later: “People go on Lions tours, and it gives them a good indication of the next level up, and Jonathan embraced that.

“He wanted to captain the team, which he did very well. It added to his experience, and he really enjoyed it.

“It’s just a marker for us to gauge him by … and he’s happy to go again.”

Trott will be 34 next month, but England also have some younger personnel to welcome in the Caribbean — where Lyth, prolific for county champions Yorkshire last summer, will push Trott to partner Cook.

As for former captain Cook, he claimed yesterday that England’s disastrous World Cup had proven the decision to replace him with Eoin Morgan at the 11th hour was wrong.

“The selectors made that decision, because they thought it was the best for English cricket,” Cook told the Daily Telegraph.

“Hindsight has probably proved them wrong, but now it’s very easy to say that.”

Cook was replaced following seriously poor performance by England in their one-day internationals.

Cook and Whitaker also said that it was highly unlikely that serial whinger Kevin Pietersen would be considered for the England squad any time soon.

by Our Sports Desk