Those nine balls Trott faced in the second innings must have felt like an eternity and agony for him. Although Trott batting in a such a frenzied way seemed so out of character for him, certainly the public would not have seen this coming. I was genuinely shocked.
This was England's number 3 who had previously been so "in the zone" when batting with all his rituals of scratching the pitch and taking his time at each delivery, that it often felt like he was batting in a bubble. Unfortunately, that bubble could, and has, burst, resulting in Trott needing to take a break from cricket.
All the routine when Trott is at the crease may now be seen as steps he needed to take to keep the demons at bay with Andy Flower confirming Trott has been dealing with this for several years now.
Mitchell Johnson's hostile round the wicket bowling and David Warner's derogatory comments have not caused Trott's illness, but we will never know if they were the tipping point to make the illness resurface.
Warner especially will hopefully learn from this and think twice about calling any fellow professional "pretty poor and weak" or looking "scared". Despite Warner not knowing at the time what Trott was suffering from, those comments were still unacceptable. This wasn't something Warner said in the heat of the moment in the battle on the field, but these comments were made in the relative calmness of a press conference.
He might not feel it right now, but the bravest thing for the Warwickshire stalwart to do was acknowledge this illness and return home so he can get the professional help and support from his family that he needs.
It is natural to make comparisons between Trott's return home and that of Marcus Trescothick on the 2006/7 Ashes series also suffered with a stress related illness. All of these illnesses shouldn't be put under the same umbrella. Trescothick's trigger was being away from his family and home support, it does not mean that Trott will never tour abroad again. Trott's trigger could be something different and individual to him.
Although attitudes towards stress related illnesses are better now than ten years ago, there are still those who through their ignorance fail to recognise it as an illness.
Some still fail to understand what stress can come from doing for a living what many dream of. However, cricket today is not how it used to be. Gone are the days of cricket being a summer sport. Today the life of the International cricketer offers no respite as they shoulder the burden of the demanding touring schedule.
The International Cricket Council should take notice that this is the third England cricketer in seven years to return home from an overseas tour with stress related illnesses. For those three that have sought help, how many others are there still suffering and battling in silence? How many are there in other international teams where they might not have as good an infrastructure as the England Cricket Board and the Professional Cricket Association's Mind matters programme. How many play for countries where mental illness is still a taboo?
Back to back Ashes series in the same year can't happen again. The entire International schedule needs addressing. The longevity of a cricketer's career is ever diminishing. Playing all three formats of the International game means that you physically and mentally can't carry on as long cricketers used to.
In addition, as players careers end, often in their early to mid-thirties, this adds to their mental stress. Everything they have known in their life is often over by 35. What is a cricketer to do then? Not everyone has the luxury of a spot in the Sky Sports studio or newspaper column. Something needs to be done,
My thoughts go out to Jonathan Trott and hope he makes a full recovery and return to cricket. Even if Trott does not play cricket again, the important thing here is ensuring that he has his health back. This demonstrates despite how much an Ashes series means to both players and fans, sport never comes before the well being of an individual.
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