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Trott picks up where he left off
Cricket, 10:41, November 7, 2009 ,
Oval hero Jonathan Trott got his and England's tour off to a flyer with 85 as England easily beat the Diamond Eagles in Bloemfontein.
The 50-over match was the first outing for the England side on the daunting trip to South Africa, with two Twenty20 internationals and five one-dayers on the horizon, and the tourists won by 185 runs to get the trip off to the perfect start.
Having been put into bat, England lost Joe Denley for just three but skipper Andrew Strauss (72) put on 123 with Trott, who spent 104 deliveries at the crease for his 85.
Paul Collingwood failed but the fast-improving Eoin Morgan smashed 67 from 52 balls to give the innings some momentum and a total of 294-7 looked adequate.
And it proved to be the case as five England bowlers each took two wickets to dismiss the home side for just 109.
Graeme Swan dispelled any rumours about his fitness with 2-15 from five overs while Saj Mahmood took 2-21 on his return to the side.
Trott was happy with his performance but admitted that he would have loved to have reached three figures so early on the tour.
"It would have been nice to get a hundred but it was just good to get in the middle again, it's like learning to drive again, you pick up the bat and get back in the mode after a few weeks off," he said.
"I don't think it's a typical South African wicket, it is a bit on the slow and low side which is quite surprising but it was nice to get in and get in the mode of playing again.
"There are still a few things to work on with my game that I could have done better out there, but it was a good start."