India-England series: Hosts look to shake inertia

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Jonathan Trott is one of the rare batsmen who average more than 50 in both Tests and ODIs, but the 30-year-old is someone who doesn't believe in resting on laurels.

“I just work really hard on my game, and seeing how far it takes me. I think I have done really well, but I would want to get better like everyone else in the team does,” Trott said on Wednesday.

Trott, who has amassed 1127 runs with two hundreds and 10 half-centuries from 25 games in the last 12 months, doesn't have any secret for his success. “I can't sit here and say this is the reason why I have scored runs. It's something that I love doing, and I have thrown myself into. That, I suppose, motivates me to wake up everyday to play for England, and do as well as I can,” he said.

His splendid form with the willow earned him the ICC Cricketer of the Year for 2011, and he broke into a smile while describing the feeling of sitting amidst legends during the awards night. “It's fantastic to have received the award. Sitting at the dinner that evening and looking at the names who have won it in the past was surreal. When I retire, I will think about how great it was,” Trott said.

Johny Bairstow's brilliant show doesn't seem to put any additional burden on Trott. “You are always under pressure in international cricket, no matter who comes in. Some crumble under it, others revel. I don't think seeing others do well puts anyone under pressure. That's not a good team ethos to have,” Trott said.

Trott does not mind sharing pearls of wisdom to the newcomers. “I try and put my point across when it's valid and at the right time. I think I am the third oldest in the team on this tour and have played quite a bit of cricket — both at the international and domestic level. I love chatting about the game to the youngsters, because that's what I tried to do when I was a young guy coming in,” Trott said.

Trott felt that the visitors would be on their toes ahead of the opening one-dayer against India here on Friday.

“It's going to be a huge challenge for us. They have a few new players. It will be interesting to see how they adapt to the pressure of playing for India. On the backdrop of us having done well against India at home, it’s important to maintain that. We don't want to be a team that can only win one-day tournaments at home. We want to win all over the world. It's important to start now,” concluded Trott.

Hosts have full fledged practice

It was business as usual for the Indian team as they assembled 48 hours before the start of the five-match ODI series against England here on Wednesday.

The Rajiv Gandhi Stadium soon saw MS Dhoni’s team getting into the groove for the uphill task that awaits them against the erstwhile rulers of the nation. There was intensity in the way each member of the team sweated it out.

The session began with a football game, where Dhoni literally kept his teammates on their toes. It was not long before Mahi’s men brought their weapons of mass-destruction (read willows) to the middle, setting the stadium ablaze. While the bowlers did try to score a few brownie points, albeit in vain.