Cricket
Cape’s Trott toast of Lord’s
2010-08-28 11:49
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Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writerCape Town – Jonathan Trott is looking more and more like the one that got away as far as South African cricket is concerned … and now earning some Jacques Kallis comparisons into the bargain.
The Cape Town-born former Boland and Western Province batsman, 29, headed an epic England fightback in the crucial final Test against Pakistan at Lord’s on Friday, recording his third century at this level (149 not out).
His unbroken eight-wicket partnership of 244 with Stuart Broad (125 not out) turned the host nation’s first innings dramatically around after it had floundered to 102 for seven at one stage.
England, an uneasy 2-1 up going into the weather-affected Lord’s Test, closed day two on 346 for seven, with their stand just two shy of the all-time England record for this wicket.
Trott also brought up his 1000th Test run in only in 23rd Test innings and 13th appearance for his adopted country.
Former England all-rounder Derek Pringle wrote in the Daily Telegraph: “Trott’s core qualities were tested thoroughly, as he absorbed the full fury of a team homing in for the kill.
“He batted with his brain, something that couldn’t be said about everyone who came to the crease. When the ball is jagging around you need to keep backlifts short and strides long.
“He managed the concentration of Garry Kasparov and the discipline of a Zen monk, the latter needed to ignore the constant carping from Kamran Akmal behind the stumps.”
Cricinfo’s Andrew Miller, meanwhile, noted: “Like his fellow Capetonian Jacques Kallis, he cloaks his talent with a one-size-fits-all batting tempo that seems out of kilter with the entertainment-obsessed era into which the game has moved.
“This tour de force left no-one in any doubt about the value of a cricketer who sets himself for survival like Ray Mears in a bushtucker trial.”
Earlier this week, Sport24 highlighted the increasing statistical threat Trott was posing to Kevin Pietersen’s star “South African billing” in the England Test team.
Out-of-touch KP’s contribution on Friday? A fatal first-ball swish for a duck …