Posted by We realised this last night while watching The Ashes Series 2010/2011 – The Inside Story
Obviously the runs help, but it’s not just that. What we like most about Jonathan Trott is his certainty. We trust his opinion.
Everyone else is wrong
During this World Cup, he has been criticised by some people for scoring too slowly. Rather than saying that he plays a certain way, has a particular role in the team or that these people were entitled to their opinion, he instead told them that they were wrong. As far as Trott was concerned, he was the one out there batting; he knew the conditions; and he played in the right way. Nothing would persuade him otherwise.
We like that.
There are times in life when everyone disagrees with you. You will generally question your opinion if this happens and most people will change their mind and go with the consensus. This is why most people are idiots.
If you hold your opinion for good reason then it stands no matter what anyone else says. If your reasons for thinking something are better than their reasons for thinking otherwise, you should stick to your guns whether it’s two people disagreeing with you or two billion.
Relying on his own opinion
England’s World Cup has been characterised by massively variable scoring on the different grounds. Going from 350 Bangalore to 170 Chennai demanded that someone assess conditions quickly. Jonathan Trott was the first batsman to do that.
He then proved that he was no Tavaré by hitting 47 off 38 balls against the West Indies. Despite the speed of scoring, it was chanceless batting until his dismissal. The outfield was like ice and everything he hit went for four, yet he didn’t get carried away. We get the impression he would have played exactly the same shots with a slow outfield and been 20 off 38 balls, for which he would doubtless have been pilloried.
Another reason to like Jonathan Trott
There’s a great guard-marking scene in that Ashes DVD. Trott’s batting and Brad Haddin marks his guard for him, doubtless in an effort to interrupt his routine and put him off his game. Trott stands poised behind him while he does this, staring at the line as if Haddin’s invisible.
“You don’t have to do one of yours now,” says Haddin. Trott utterly blanks him and methodically draws a line in the dirt in exactly the same spot.
Then he hits 168 not out.
Damn. Forgot to mention his throw, which is just immense.
Brings to mind a Kenny Powers quote:
I hated Trott for the longest time, for his idosyncrasies, for his South African-ness, for his lack of hair, for his general monotone boring-ness. Now I love him for all the same reasons. He has completely changed my mind on him, and I now love watching him bat.
This post reminded me of Fermat’s last but one theorem: “Anyone who likes Trott is a douche”. When asked if this holds true for any ‘n’, Pierre replied “Get real”.
And he can do this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YvITpZPDNI
Still boring as all hell to watch. A younger version of Mike Hussey – now there’s a man that in recent years that can bore for his country.
They call Rahul Dravid “The Wall,” but really, every team needs a Wall, ideally at #3. South Africa have Kallis there, & England have Trott. He truly is a Wall, & just like Dravid he will pick up the pace every once in a while when he thinks the time is right, just to remind everyone that he can do it.
I started off loving him because he was an underdog and a massive spurs fan, then i hated him because i wanted trescothick to play the 5th test in the 2009 ashes, then i loved him for the level of annoyance his scratching around caused the aussies.
now i love him because he is crazy good, and he has crossed over into permanent love, no longer dependent on how well he does.
What are the weird sisters doing comprising the entire crowd in that photo. KC?
I particularly like the 168 not out bit in your narrative. That fact makes its own point.
he can catch a ball in his pocket, but he can’t catch it in his hands without his shirt touching the boundary.