‘Franchise cricket isn’t as rewarding’: Jonathan Trott on Lions pride and England ambitions

Jonathan Trott pretty much entered Ashes folklore from the outset, scoring a series-winning century on his Test debut at the Oval back in 2009. Less spoken about, but just as relevant to the latest move in his upwardly mobile coaching career, is the first time he pulled on an England shirt two years earlier.

Drafted into the Twenty20 side for a low-key home series against West Indies, Trott knew only Ian Bell from Warwickshire and, out of his comfort zone, walked away with scores of nine and two. The difference two years on? Playing cricket in the finishing school of the Lions setup that he has recently taken charge of.

“For me, the Lions was huge,” says Trott over the phone from Dubai, where he has been grimacing through some seniors cricket before his new role as head coach of England’s second string. “It was a really important phase in my development.

“When I made my T20 debut in 2007 it was like I had come in from the cold. It was very weird suddenly playing for a team where, apart from Belly, I didn’t know anyone. For some cricketers that’s fine, they walk into a side and do their thing. But for me the sense of the team has always been a big aspect of playing.

“Playing for the Lions in the two years after that, I actually got to know a lot of the players who became my teammates in the Test side. We played in the Duleep Trophy in India the first winter, against touring sides in the summers, and had a full tour of New Zealand. So some very competitive cricket. So, making my Test debut in 2009 felt like more of a natural transition, really.”

In a wide-ranging chat about his coaching philosophy, it is one of a number of areas where Trott’s experiences as a player – a career that produced more than 20,000 runs and nine Test centuries – makes his Lions appointment feel like a shrewd one. Not that it was his first choice, having interviewed for the recent Test vacancy.

Stephen Fleming got the nod but Trott very much impressed all the same, leading to a winter-long role with the Lions on tours of the Caribbean, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Should it then continue into next summer, when the schedule is less busy, there is also scope for additional work, with the vacant head coach role at Birmingham Phoenix one rumoured possibility given his ties to Edgbaston.

After a successful four-year spell with the Afghanistan men’s team – including notable victories over England at the last two global events – this could all be viewed as a consolation prize. But Trott is playing the long game. As driven as he was as a player, and having also coached in franchise and county cricket, the 45-year-old makes no secret of his aim to go one further next time.

Equally, he insists, replacing Andrew Flintoff at the Lions is not just a “stepping stone” to the main job, rather a chance to lift up the bonnet of English cricket and make a difference. The Lions will always have youth and player development at its heart. But he also wants senior players to use it as a resource, for hopefuls to see the benefits over franchise cricket, and, ultimately, for the team to win.

Trott says: “I want the Lions to focus on winning and performing whenever you wear the three lions of England, so it’s second nature when you put on the main cap; that you are expected to perform your role. It’s not just about enhancing your game, it’s serious cricket. Because winning is a habit and a mentality.

“Players, especially younger players, get attracted by the bright lights of the franchise stuff but I don’t think it’s anywhere near as rewarding as playing for your national side. And, shoot me if I’m wrong, but I’ve recently started to notice more players migrating back to international cricket for that sense of satisfaction.

“I also want guys in the senior England side who don’t feel right in their game or have been left out to come back to the Lions and know they’re going to work with some fantastic coaches. You’re not going to waste your time, you’re going to be challenged. The best players like to be challenged. And if you make runs or take wickets in a good Lions game, it will only give you confidence.”

Trott’s approach is heavily influenced by Andy Flower and Ashley Giles, likewise his father, Ian, who coaches East Molesey in the Surrey Championship and Auckland Grammar in New Zealand. He also cites Bob Woolmer’s tactical input during his formative years in South Africa, as well as John Inverarity for showing him the “standards expected” when the Australian was in charge at Warwickshire.

It was in Flower’s hothoused England setup that Trott truly shone, of course, as the linchpin No 3 in the side that won in Australia and India and rose to No 1 in the world. Although as Trott likes to joke, he and Alastair Cook missed Flower’s infamous Bavarian training camp before the 2010-11 Ashes triumph.

“Whenever I see Andy and he talks about that training camp, I say: ‘That’s great, but your two leading run-scorers weren’t there,’” he laughs. “‘Maybe if no one had gone on it that series would have gone even better’.

“But clearly I took a lot from Andy and he actually helped me into coaching after playing, first with the Lions and then at Trent Rockets in the Hundred. I have gone on to do my own thing but I can always call him up for advice.”

Does this include emulating Flower’s notoriously hard-edged approach back in the day? “I’ve tried to keep the human side,” Trott replies. “When I started playing cricket 25 years ago, there was definitely a bigger gap between coaches and players in the ranks in terms of authority. But that gap has closed.

“There’s not as much of a dictatorial element to coaching. There is a line between player and coach but not as big as it used to be. I enjoy having a laugh, the fun side of training. But I enjoy winning just that little bit more.”

Trott’s job, he says, is to find the “sweet spot” where players are pushed – but not into a self-defeating slog. As someone whose England career was curtailed by stress – a propensity to overtrain that proved ruinous during the run-up to the 2013-14 Ashes – he again comes at it from a position of knowledge.

He says: “I got things right and also I got things wrong. And as a coach, you get a feel for it. There will be times when I tell my coaching staff to put the guys under pressure but also when you need to make them feel good about themselves. You have to judge the personality and traits of a team. After a little while, you know when you need to put your foot down or take your foot off a little bit.”

A key element of Trott’s role, he says, is encouraging players to be their best selves, rather than anything too prescriptive, and deepen the 50-over knowledge of the next generation. Trott notes how his own career path – about 20 List A matches per summer – is no longer there for the cream of English white-ball talent now that the Hundred sits on top of the Metro Bank Cup.

Does he also share Brendon McCullum’s stated aim that England’s limited overs teams become the “fittest, strongest and most robust in the world”? In something of a healthy sign that Trott is not going to be a yes man in the setup, he slightly pushes back at the need for such a lofty mission statement.

“I’m not sure that should even be discussed,” says Trott, matter-of-factly. “I mean, you should always look to be the fittest and the best you can be.

“And away from the game, I want guys to make the most of their time and their own interests; to find ways of getting mentally ready and refreshed for games, not be reliant on coaches or sports psychologists. I want them to be self-sufficient and that’s one of the first things I’ll be telling the Lions players.”

Behaviour after-hours has been a hot topic for England this past year, headlines generated by at least three drink-related incidents. Trott’s advice to the generation coming through? “I always tell the guys to be smart. That’s all I’ll say. Be smart, think about the team, and you can’t go too far wrong with that.”

One suspects the Afghanistan side did not need much guidance in this regard but Trott’s impact on their team was significant all the same. And chatting about that experience – even while operating exclusively away from home while the Taliban’s grim regime worsened – the impact on Trott sounds just as profound.

He says: “I’m very proud of that period, competing well at World Cups and beating England twice [in the 2023 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy]. The guys aren’t just playing for themselves but also their families. There is a lot of pressure on them to provide. That’s their way of life. To help them realise their talent and maybe give them the belief they might not have had was satisfying.

“The role had a lot of challenges, clearly. I tried to keep away from politics but it was always there. But the players, they know what they are about and what they stand for. And we were able to give a lot of happiness to people along the way, changing the history of the game in Afghanistan.”

Trott is now keen to foster similar relationships with the England Lions, the first tour of which departs for the Caribbean this month. “If I do get the chance to coach England one day, it will make it easier to pick up rather than coming in from the cold,” he adds, circling back on the importance of good groundwork.